Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at UNSC briefing on the situation in Yemen
Mme.President,
We thank SESG Grundberg and OCHA Operations Director Wosornu for the reports on the political and humanitarian situation in the country.
We could customarily focus our remarks on the intra-Yemeni agenda: prospects for a settlement and outcome of the negotiations. But, unfortunately, these processes have been complicated by a new destructive factor that cannot be ignored: the continuing aggression against sovereign Yemen by the so-called "coalition" led by the United States and Great Britain, with the participation of a number of their satellites.
The massive strikes that began on January 11 against the territory of Yemen have continued to this day. By taking such action, Western countries directly violate international law. Article 51 of the UN Charter, to which they refer, is inapplicable to the situation of commercial vessels. The right to self-defense cannot be used to ensure freedom of navigation, especially when it comes to vessels flying the flag of third countries. At the same time, UNSC did not authorize the use of force under Chapter VII.
Twisted interpretation of Security Council resolution 2722, which does not give any "blessing" to forceful action in Yemen, is unacceptable. This dangerous approach, which the West has practiced with increasing frequency, undermines the authority of the Security Council and the entire United Nations and leads to the destruction of the entire security architecture on a global scale.
We regret that the European Union decided to follow the same vicious path after the Americans and announced its own "defensive" operation "Aspides", which, according to Brussels' statements, will begin to operate as early as February 19, next week.
I would like to emphasize that Russia strongly condemns attacks and interceptions of commercial vessels, as well as any steps that impede freedom of navigation. Send corresponding signals to the leadership of Ansar Allah, encouraging them to focus on the intra-Yemeni agenda and the finalization of the relevant agreements. However, dubious Western steps are creating additional risks for the intra-Yemeni process without making navigation in the mentioned waters safer. On the contrary, those destructive steps but spread chaos farther into the region.
Needless to say, the unlawful attacks on Yemen are having a negative impact on the already difficult humanitarian situation in the country, which continues to suffer severe shortages of food and medicine. According to UN estimates, of the $4.3 billion that were requested for supporting Yemenis in 2023, only 39% has been accumulated. If our American and British colleagues really want to help, they should immediately cease military activity against Yemen and focus on real assistance to ordinary people throughout the country.
Mme.President,
We must recall the root causes of the current situation - Israel's brutal military operation in the Gaza Strip, which triggered a “domino effect” throughout the Middle East region. That includes the actions of the Ansar Allah movement. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza would have a stabilizing effect on the situation in the Red Sea. And de-escalation in this area, in turn, would unblock the efforts of Special Envoy Grundberg, who in the current circumstances is forced to return to shuttle diplomacy instead of finalizing the road map for an intra-Yemeni settlement. Our support for SESG’s efforts is unwavering. We understand the difficult situation in which the United Nations mediation has found itself because of the short-sighted actions of our friends in the West (first and foremost the United States and the United Kingdom). In fact, every new strike on Yemen's territory leads to another round of escalation and postpones prospects for normalization.
Russia sincerely seeks to help the Yemenis reach agreement. We have intensified own mediation efforts against the background of the aggressive actions of Washington and its satellites. In our contacts with all leading Yemeni political forces and key regional partners, we continue to emphasize the need for a long-term stabilization within the framework of an inclusive inter-Yemeni dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations. We call on our partners to remain focused on the peace process. We are convinced that all Yemeni players, including the leadership of Ansar Allah, are ultimately determined to continue the dialogue. They need help with that. But beside that, they need everyone to not create additional problems for a Yemeni settlement through ill-considered actions.
Thank you.
