Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council meeting on Yemen

 Since this is the first time I have taken the floor in the Council this year, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on the Dominican Republic’s presidency for this month. We are sure you will carry out your duties with distinction. We are grateful to Mr. Martin Griffiths, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, for his briefing on the changes in the military and political situation in Yemen in the light of the Stockholm Agreement.

We also thank Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock for his assessment of the humanitarian situation, which makes it clear that Yemen and its people are experiencing a terrible humanitarian disaster. It is obvious that it is impossible to end a conflict of many years’ standing in the few weeks that have passed since the start of the implementation of the Agreement, which many of us helped the Special Envoy to conclude in Sweden. We are not expecting instant results, and we will continue to work with Mr. Griffiths and the parties to the conflict in Yemen with a view to implementing it as soon as possible.

The groundwork has been laid. The Redeployment Coordination Committee, headed by retired Major General Cammaert, has been established. The Committee’s meetings are not going very smoothly, but they are taking place and the results can be seen in the lower level of violence around the city and port of Al-Hudaydah. Further discussions are being held on the methodology for implementing mutual understanding on the prisoner exchange and on de-escalation in Taiz.

We endorse the mobilization of the United Nations presence in Yemen and the efforts to expand it. We support the Secretary-General’s initiative on setting up a new mission to support the implementation of the Al-Hudaydah agreement. We believe it will help Mr. Griffiths with his mediation efforts, including in terms of organizing a new round of consultations. 

In our view it will be important to ensure the Government of the Republic of Yemen and the Ansar Allah movement maintain their resolve to reach compromises on their existing disagreements, including on the political issues that the parties have barely begun to consider. Needless to say, much depends on sticking to the agreements already reached. It is essential that we all continue our collective and bilateral efforts to support Mr. Griffiths’ work on the political front.

However, we must also maintain our parallel efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which continues to deteriorate daily, as Mr. Lowcock reminded us today. Millions of Yemenis are starving, with no way to get essential medicines or services, and are in need of assistance in one form or another. The cost of rebuilding the country’s devastated infrastructure continues to rise incrementally.

Russia, like many other States Members of the United Nations, including Yemen’s nearest neighbours, continues to make its contribution to assisting the people of Yemen. However, we are doing it on a non-discriminatory basis. Humanitarian assistance must be provided to everyone in Yemen who needs it, regardless of who controls the territory where they live. We assume that this principle is guiding other humanitarian partners in Yemen as well.

In conclusion, we want to once again draw attention to the potential benefit that improving the overall atmosphere in the region could bring to settling the situation in Yemen and the other crises in the Middle East and northern Africa. Policies of confrontation and aggressive competition must give way to dialogue and mutual understanding, including through the creation of a unified security architecture. It is our shared duty to help the stakeholders in the region get that process under way.

In our opinion, Russia’s concept for security and confidence in the Persian Gulf continues to represent a sound basis for joint efforts in that regard.