The U.S. State Department’s Spokesperson has stated that Washington respects Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in handling the situation involving the Iranian warship ‘IRIS Bushehr’ and its crew.
The spokesperson added that the final decision regarding the vessel, its crew, and the rescued Iranian sailors rests solely with Sri Lanka, in accordance with the country’s domestic laws and international legal obligations.
This statement comes after Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told a conference in New Delhi that Sri Lanka was caring for 32 sailors from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena under Colombo’s international treaty obligations.
The frigate was sunk by a US submarine on Wednesday just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
Sri Lanka sent its navy to rescue survivors and recovered 84 bodies.
Asked if Colombo was under pressure from the United States to not repatriate the Iranians, Herath did not answer directly.
‘‘We have taken all the steps according to international laws,’’ Herath said.
Sri Lanka also provided safe haven to a second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, and evacuated its 219 crew members a day after the Dena was torpedoed.
The ship was taken to Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s northeast coast after reporting engine problems.
Reuters reported Friday that Washington was leaning on Sri Lanka not to repatriate the Iranian sailors, citing an internal State Department cable.
Asked about the report, a State Department spokesperson said the disposition of the IRIS Bushehr crew and Iranian sailors rescued at sea was up to Sri Lanka.
‘‘The United States of course respects and recognizes Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in the handling of this situation,’’ the spokesperson told AFP.
India, meanwhile, said Saturday that it had allowed a third Iranian warship, the IRIS Lavan, to dock in one of its ports on ‘‘humane’’ grounds after it too reported operational problems.
The three ships were part of a multi-national fleet review held by India before the war in the Middle East started last Saturday.
‘‘I think it was the humane thing to do and I think we were guided by that principle,’’ Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
The Lavan docked in the southwest Indian port of Kochi on Wednesday.
‘‘A lot of the people on board were young cadets. They have disembarked and are in a nearby facility,’’ Jaishankar said.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said this week that Colombo would follow the Hague Convention, which requires a neutral state to hold combatants of a warring state until hostilities end.
A senior administration official said Colombo was in talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross to deal with the survivors of the torpedoed ship.
International humanitarian law applied to the survivors from the Dena, an official said, and the wounded could be repatriated at their request.
Iranian diplomats in Colombo said they have asked for the remains of the sailors killed in the US attack to be taken back to Iran.
(With agencies inputs)
