Foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos on Wednesday said that the arrest of British military personnel by the Iranian authorities "justifiably causes strong concern", adding Greece's hope for a speedy settlement of the matter in accordance with the rules of international law.

Koumoutsakos said during a regular press briefing that the Greek foreign ministry had been informed by Britain of the incident "which justifiably causes strong concern".

"Greece expresses the wish and hope for the speediest possible settlement of this issue, in accordance with the rules of international law, and with implementation of the usual international practice, particularly with regard to the detention conditions and release of the detainees," he said.

Koumoutsakos further stressed that "the importance of Community solidarity, which concerns all the member states and their relations with third countries, becomes evident in such political instances".

Iran last week detained 15 British sailors and marines, including one woman, charging that they illegally entered Iranian territorial waters.

Britain on Wednesday said satellite global positioning data showed that the British military personnel had been 1.7 nautical miles within Iraqi waters when the incident took place, and has just completed a routine search of a merchant ship inside Iraqi waters, under a UN mandate.

Source: Athens News Agency

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