At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the Kremlin condemned the attacks on Houthi positions. UN Secretary-General Guterres called on all sides not to escalate the situation any further.
Russia condemned the US-led airstrikes on Houthi rebel positions in Yemen on Friday evening. These are inadmissible from the perspective of international law, explained Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “The countries that struck tried to invoke international law,” he said, referring to a UN Security Council resolution. “This attempt was unsuccessful because the adopted resolution does not provide for the right to attack,” Peskov said.
The United Nations’ most powerful body issued a resolution on Wednesday calling for an end to Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and upholding the right of member states to defend ships against such attacks.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov also called the Houthis’ attacks on international shipping “extremely wrong.” Moscow has repeatedly called on the Houthis to stop this practice.
Moscow: Attacks could reverse “positive trends”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously condemned the air strikes in Yemen. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke of “irresponsible actions by the United States and its allies” in the Middle East. A comprehensive military escalation could reverse the positive trends that have occurred in pacifying the conflict in Yemen and further jeopardize the situation in the entire Middle East region, Zakharova said.
Referring to the threat to commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, she said the US stance in the UN Security Council was only “a pretext for a further escalation of tensions in the region.”
USA assumes Iranian involvement
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council that no country’s ships were safe from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. “Whether a ship is flying the US flag or the flag of another country, all of our ships are vulnerable.” Thomas-Greenfield also said that without Iran’s support, the Houthi rebels would have little ability to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea.
Guterres calls for an end to the escalation
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for all sides to comply with the resolution. The Houthi attacks on merchant ships are unacceptable, Guterres said, according to the statement. The rebels would have to adhere to the resolution.
At the same time, all UN member states that defended their ships must adhere to international law, as set out in the resolution, Guterres continued. He called on everyone involved not to escalate the situation further.
Griffiths demands again armistice in Gaza
Meanwhile, UN emergency aid coordinator Martin Griffiths again called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. What the world has experienced since October 7, when terrorists from Hamas and other groups carried out the worst massacre in Israel’s history, is “a stain on our collective conscience,” Griffiths also told the UN Security Council.
“I repeat my call for a ceasefire. But above all, I once again call on the Council to take urgent action to end this war,” said the head of the UN emergency relief office.
