The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has said he believes the future of nine British citizens being held at the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba will be resolved within the next few weeks.
But, in a BBC television interview, he said he could not yet say exactly how the issue would be settled.
Mr Blair's government has been under pressure over the fate of British and other detainees being held without trial as terrorist suspects at Guantanamo.
It is exactly two years since the first prisoners were sent to the base, and the United States is facing renewed criticism over the treatment of the 660 detainees now being held there.
The New York-based group, Human Rights Watch, says the United States is continuing to ignore international law by holding the prisoners without charge.
And, in a highly unusual move, 135 British politicians are to lodge an appeal in the US Supreme Court on behalf of 16 of the detainees.
The 85 MPs and 50 members of the House of Lords are supporting a case in which the detainees are claiming the right to challenge their detention before a civilian court.
