Geneva : Russia has called for the immediate and complete lifting of the land, air, and sea blockade on Yemen, strongly criticising the United States and Israel for instigating a "broader regional confrontation that has drawn in Houthi forces."
Addressing a UN Security Council briefing on Yemen, Russian representative Dina Gilmutdinova urged the international community to remove all restrictions on the delivery of essential food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to the country, pointing out that prolonged stagnation in the Yemeni peace process has dragged local actors into wider regional hostilities.
"We also call for the complete lifting of the maritime, air and land blockade of Yemen, as well as the removal of all restrictions on the delivery of food, medicines and other essential goods to the country," the Russian delegation stated.
Highlighting the root causes of the escalating regional crisis, Moscow noted, "We have witnessed how the prolonged stagnation of the Yemeni peace process has dragged the Houthis into the broader regional confrontation initiated by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Russia expressed deep concern over the sharp rise in military tension, characterising the current situation as Yemen's most acute military and political crisis since the expiration of the April 2022 internal truce.
Moscow criticised the Arab Coalition's response to recent uncoordinated civilian aircraft landings in Sana'a and Hodeidah, describing coalition airstrikes on Sana'a International Airport as "disproportionate."
While acknowledging that Houthi actions in the Red Sea have disrupted commercial shipping and claimed lives, Russia emphasised that freedom of navigation must be unconditionally protected, while also noting Houthi claims that their actions were a direct reaction to the longstanding blockade on northern Yemen.
"After more than six months of relative calm, tensions have also resumed in the Red Sea, with Ansar Allah attempting to disrupt the navigation of commercial and military vessels, while justifying its actions as a 'mirror response' to the longstanding blockade of Yemen's northern provinces. Regrettably, these developments have claimed human lives. We share the position that freedom of navigation must be unconditionally safeguarded and strongly condemn any actions that endanger commercial shipping," he stated.
Calling for an immediate return to political negotiations without preconditions or policies of "maximum pressure," the Russian mission stressed that any lasting settlement must take into account the legitimate interests of all key domestic forces, including the Houthis.
"We hope that the opposing sides will nevertheless demonstrate wisdom and refrain from scaling up their military activities, as continuation of the current trend could have far-reaching consequences for the entire region. We call on them to promptly return to the negotiating table and set about addressing their accumulated differences through diplomatic means," the Russian representative added. Russia also urged international donors to address shrinking humanitarian aid budgets to avert a catastrophe in critical sectors such as healthcare and food security.