The Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Zarif on Monday welcomed the release of the seized tanker Grace 1(renamed Adrian Darya 1) in Gibraltar.
Zarif disclosed this to newsmen in Helsinki after talks with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
When asked to comment on the reports that the ship was going to Greece to offload its cargo, Zarif said Iran could not be transparent about the transport of its oil because of the U.S. sanctions.
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He, however, described Finland as an old friend of Iran and now in the role of the president of the Council of the EU.
Zarif said that Helsinki represents the possibility of replacing confrontation with dialogue, warning of the possibility that the window for negotiations might be closing.
He also had talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and representatives of the Finnish mediation organisation, Crisis Management Initiative during his visit to Finland.
Haavisto noted that Europe had so far played a constructive role on the Iran issues, recalling that after the nuclear agreement, Finland sent a business delegation to Iran, but circumstances for such cooperation had since worsened.
He said Finland had maintained contact with Iran on the circumstances of the Latvian sailors on the British registered tanker held in Iran, adding Finland could offer a good atmosphere. (NAN)
