Statement by Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council meeting on the sitiuation in Yemen
We thank Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Lowcock for their briefings. We would like to express our support for Mr. Griffiths, who has just begun his work and is conducting it appropriately.
We hope that with the support of the Security Council and all stakeholders he can succeed in overcoming the impasse in this protracted crisis. We will support him in his efforts. We have been closely following the military, political and humanitarian developments in Yemen.
We are seriously concerned about the fact that as a result of the ongoing hostilities, the numbers of dead and wounded are increasing, as is the extent of the damage to civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities. So far, unfortunately, the escalating trend in the conflict is only increasing, and the humanitarian disaster is getting worse.
More than 80 per cent of the population of Yemen is in need of assistance. Millions of Yemenis are starving. The country has been swamped by an epidemic of cholera and diphtheria. We greatly appreciate the efforts of all who are taking steps to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and welcome the outcome of the pledging conference held in Geneva on 3 April and the pledges that were announced there, especially by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Russia is also providing assistance to the Yemeni people both through Aden and Sana’a.
Since the acute stage of the conflict began in 2015, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has delivered planeloads bringing a total of more than 70 tons of various humanitarian goods to Yemen. We are working both bilaterally and through the World Food Programme.
Nevertheless, we believe that humanitarian assistance alone cannot result in viable, long-term solutions. We continue to believe that the only way to end this protracted civil conflict is through dialogue that takes into consideration the interests of all the participants. We emphatically condemn indiscriminate strikes, of which civilians are usually the victims.
Targeting civilian areas of Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles is also absolutely unacceptable. We urge the perpetrators to halt such efforts, which do not help the political process or an eventual political settlement in any way. We reaffirm our principled position in favour of an immediate halt to the armed confrontation in the Republic of Yemen and to the use of force and attempts to settle their differences militarily by the parties to the conflict.
That can be achieved only by focusing on Yemen itself, not by introducing geopolitical calculations into the conflict. Through desire and political will, Yemen can become an example of a successful settlement to other conflicts in the region and a factor contributing to regional stability, which the area so desperately needs.
We hope that Mr. Griffiths can succeed in reversing those trends. We believe that the international community, and first and foremost the United Nations, to which we traditionally assign a central role, should continue their efforts to induce Yemeni stakeholders to reject violence and sit down at the negotiating table to create a consolidated vision for the country’s next incarnation, on the basis of a broad national dialogue and mutual consideration of the interests of its main political forces, as well as the relevant decisions of the international community. Rather than ostracizing anyone, it is important to involve all the countries and forces that can bring genuine influence to bear on the parties to the conflict.
For our part, we intend to continue to contribute to those efforts. We have been doing so since the start of the civil conflict in Yemen, and have been in regular communication with everyone who is crucial to putting the situation in Yemen back on a path to peace.
