The Netherlands has launched legal action to free 30 Greenpeace activists charged in Russia with piracy.
The group was arrested last month over a protest on an Arctic oil rig owned by state-controlled firm Gazprom.
Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said he was also acting to free the Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise.
Greenpeace calls the charges against the activists, who include two Dutch citizens, "irrational, absurd and an outrage".
Mr Timmermans said the Netherlands had applied to the UN's Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which resolves maritime disputes between states.
He said his country, the first nation to take legal action in the case, viewed the ship's detention as unlawful.
Under the rules of the Hamburg-based Tribunal, the Netherlands may apply for the immediate release of the ship and those on board.
"I really want to consult with my Russian colleagues... to get these people freed as soon as possible," Mr Timmermans said, according to Associated Press.
Read more: BBC News - Dutch take legal action over Greenpeace ship in Russia
The group was arrested last month over a protest on an Arctic oil rig owned by state-controlled firm Gazprom.
Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said he was also acting to free the Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise.
Greenpeace calls the charges against the activists, who include two Dutch citizens, "irrational, absurd and an outrage".
Mr Timmermans said the Netherlands had applied to the UN's Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which resolves maritime disputes between states.
He said his country, the first nation to take legal action in the case, viewed the ship's detention as unlawful.
Under the rules of the Hamburg-based Tribunal, the Netherlands may apply for the immediate release of the ship and those on board.
"I really want to consult with my Russian colleagues... to get these people freed as soon as possible," Mr Timmermans said, according to Associated Press.
Read more: BBC News - Dutch take legal action over Greenpeace ship in Russia
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