Kuwait on Tuesday said it is in the interest of Kuwait and all countries in the region to solve the issue of detained British sailors in Iran as soon as possible, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al- Sabah told KUNA after a function by Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).

"We do not need a new tension in the region and I have conveyed these words to the Iranian foreign minister when I met him in the (recent) Arab summit in Riyadh," al-Sabah said.

Voicing a hope that Iran could open heart in dealing with this issue, the top Kuwaiti diplomat said "I am unaware of the details of the (arrest) incident, but I know that the area is narrow and there could be violations here or there."

Meanwhile, he denied there is any mediation by Kuwait between Iran and the United Kingdom, saying "Kuwait is not mediating in this issue because it was not asked to."

The standoff between Iran and Britain came after 15 British naval personnel were seized by Iranian forces on March 23 when they were patrolling off the Iraqi borders.

Iran has insisted that the British boats made a blatant " incursion" into Iranian territorial waters. However, Britain said its soldiers were engaged in routine boarding operations in Iraqi territorial waters.

Source: Xinhua