Russia official condemns US, UK strikes on Yemen 

Russia’s Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, has condemned the US and UK’s strikes on Yemen, saying they could destabilise the region, Anadolu reported citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Bogdanov yesterday received a delegation of Yemen’s Houthis and discussed the escalation of tensions in the Red Sea, the Foreign Ministry added, noting that the parties had condemned the US-led air strikes.

“Special attention was paid to the development of tragic events in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as the escalation as a result of the situation in the Red Sea. In this context, the US and UK missile and bomb strikes on Yemen, which could destabilise the situation on a regional scale, were strongly condemned,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Bogdanov and the Houthi delegation have also discussed the settlement of the military and political crisis in Yemen, which has been ongoing for nearly nine years.

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“In addition, the importance of stepping up international efforts to create, as soon as possible, the necessary conditions for launching a full-format intra-Yemeni national dialogue under UN auspices was emphasised,” the ministry added.

In turn, the Houthi chief negotiator and the group spokesman, Muhammad Abdul Salam, posted on X saying the meeting with Bogdanov dealt with the situation in the region, especially the genocidal war on Gaza which was condemned and rejected, and the need to intensify international efforts to pressure the United States and Israel to stop it.

He pointed out that the meeting also addressed “Yemen’s position in support of Gaza and the US-British aggression it was subjected to in order to protect Israel,” adding that Washington should stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip and bring humanitarian aid into it, “instead of militarising the Red Sea”.