London: Britain Monday called for a lasting settlement to ensure freedom of navigation and a toll-free Strait of Hormuz as the US-Iran ceasefire hung in the balance.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper arrived in Japan for the final leg of what has been branded as an “intensified shuttle diplomacy tour” to advance coordination with key allies on shared geopolitical, economic and energy security priorities.
During the six-day tour spanning Europe and West Asia, the British minister held in-person talks with Foreign Ministers from 11 countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, and Ukraine, concluding with a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister for the annual Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo.
“An important meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on importance of extending the ceasefire & getting shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened,” said Cooper, following the meeting with her Pakistani counterpart on Sunday.
“The UK is grateful to Pakistan for the role they have been playing in facilitating diplomatic talks,” she said.
It came ahead of the US seizure of an Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend for allegedly trying to get past the American blockade of the country’s ports. It has thrown a second round of planned negotiations in Pakistan into disarray as Tehran declined to continue with the peace process.
“This is a critical diplomatic moment with the end of the ceasefire looming. Further talks on a lasting settlement are welcome, “ they must lead to a toll-free Strait of Hormuz,” said Cooper.
“Proposals have been circulating from Iran to introduce tolls on the Strait once the conflict is concluded. Since the call I convened with more than 40 countries at the start of April, we have been working to build an international consensus both on the urgency of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and on the principle that freedom of navigation must be restored in full, without restrictions or tolls.
“It is clear to me from my talks that an increasing number of countries are now joining the UK in insisting that there is no sustainable resolution to the closure of Hormuz that leaves the Iranian regime charging for access,” she said.
The UK foreign secretary said she will continue her talks in Japan on Monday because it is about the precedent to be set for freedom of navigation all over the world.
“If the wrong precedent is set (in the Strait of Hormuz), it would be deeply damaging not just for the global economy, but for global security, and that is why it is an argument we must win,” she added.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said that Japan has joined UK-led efforts to support a resumption of free passage in the Strait of Hormuz, and in recent days has announced a new cooperation framework with its Asian counterparts pledging USD 10 billion in financial aid to support neighbours, especially in Southeast Asia, to secure energy.
It highlighted that the UK has been engaging with partners across the globe to build a broad coalition of opposition and resistance to tolls, including through convening 50 countries, including India, for a summit in France last week.
“The Foreign Secretary has been clear that preventing individual states from holding the global economy hostage requires coordinated international action to protect supply chains, uphold international law and defend the rules-based order,” it stated.
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