Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing on the Escalation in the Middle East
Madam President,
We are grateful to Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Khaled Khiari for his briefing.
The situation in the Middle East is a matter of the gravest concern. The violence – unprecedented in scale and duration – has not stopped but rather, regrettably, is gaining momentum, with more and more countries of the region dragged into this vicious circle. Yemen is no exception – over the past 10 days, we’ve seen a new wave of escalation unfolding around it. It is important to understand the root causes of this escalation, while avoiding one-sided interpretation of the deteriorating situation, for which our Western colleagues blame (including today) solely the Ansar Allah movement. We must regard the situation in the broader context, since many hotbeds of tension emerge today through Israeli actions against the Palestinians, which evoke rejection and condemnation on the “Arab street”.
Madam President,
The missile launch by the Houthis towards Israel in early hours of December 20 deserves our condemnation. As far as we know, this missile was intercepted by Israeli air defenses before it crossed the Israeli border, but fragments did damage a school. Several more strikes followed. Fortunately, there were no casualties. We understand that such incidents involving launches of missiles and UAVs into Israeli territory are extremely sensitive for West Jerusalem. Once again, we emphasize the inadmissibility of any actions that threaten civilians and civilian infrastructure. We sympathize with all those affected, including those affected by the strike on Jaffa of December 21, and wish them a speedy recovery.
However, we believe that the reaction was clearly disproportionate and also deserves our condemnation, I refer here to the Israeli military response that followed the December 19 incident, involving first the US Navy and then the entire self-proclaimed Anglo-Saxon “coalition” in the Red Sea. Thus, at least 9 people were killed as the result of the massive strikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, and on the ports of Hodeidah, Al-Salif and Ras Issa. Moreover, there were attacked fuel tanks, a power station, and tugboats; port infrastructure was severely damaged. We are also alarmed by the information circulated by the media, including Israeli media, that the IDF attack on Yemeni ports was planned in advance, and that Israeli fighter jets were already in the air by the time the Houthis launched the missile on December 19. All these circumstances require our careful scrutiny as the minimum.
As a result, Yemen has been subjected to a genuine air assault in recent days. Thus, the December 24 Israeli airstrikes (supported by the United States) against Sanaa and Yemeni Red Sea ports targeted oil terminals, power plants and Sanaa International Airport, where a high-level WHO delegation, including its Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, was present at that time. It’s a miracle that he came out unscathed, because – according to his own witness account – facilities just in a few meters away from him were destroyed. The strike on the airport building killed at least two people. One member of the crew of the flight transporting the delegation was injured. By the way, the delegation arrived in Sanaa to hold talks on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and on the release of detained UN staff. In other words, the USA and the UK, who hypocritically clamored for everything to be done to ensure their release, have in fact jeopardized the UN negotiators, who came to Sanaa for that very purpose. We call on you to heed the UN Secretary General's statement that the strikes on Sanaa and Red Sea ports seriously endanger humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people in Yemen are in need of this humanitarian assistance.
It is difficult to characterize the actions of Israel and the Anglo-Saxon “coalition” as anything other than a deliberate escalation, which resulted in casualties among civilians in Yemen. Whether these actions were retaliatory or not, the scale of destruction is incommensurate. A similar logic, by the way, can be traced in the context of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, where as a result of the IDF's actions more than 45,000 civilians have died. The Israeli military leadership has openly stated the intend to continue its operation in Yemen, aiming to paralyze the operation of the three ports mentioned above. And these ports remain the most important artery for the delivery of humanitarian aid to that country, and many humanitarian workers are active there. We call on all parties involved in aggressive actions against Yemen to exercise restraint and refrain from escalatory steps. It is also necessary to undertake measures to protect ordinary Yemenis and humanitarian workers.
Madam President,
January will mark one year since the beginning of illegitimate military action by the group of Western countries under the leadership of the USA and the UK against sovereign Yemen. This self-proclaimed “coalition”, cynically entitled “Prosperity Guardian” is not solving any problems, but rather exacerbating them and sowing more and more devastation in this country of the Middle East, just as they did before in many other countries. Just on Friday, the United States and its satellites again launched massive strikes on the long-suffering Yemen. We call on the UNSC members not to let anyone pull the wool over their eyes – these attacks have nothing to do with the exercise of the right to self-defense pursuant to Article 51 of the UN Charter. They can be justified neither by international law nor by UNSC resolution 2722. The actions of the so-called “coalition” are a flagrant violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the Organization. They are nothing but yet another military aggression by the collective West against a sovereign state, just another country in the long list of countries attacked. Far from easing tensions surrounding Yemen (including the turmoil in the Red Sea), this attack is actually fueling further escalation and undermining progress in the inter-Yemeni settlement. Yemen's problems must be resolved exclusively through diplomatic means. We have long tried to convey that simple message to our Council colleagues, but unfortunately some of them still pretend that they have not heard what we’ve been saying.
Madam President,
The situation in Yemen today is prone to further escalation, which could ultimately undo all previous hard-won progress towards a settlement. The key to resolving contradictions in and around Yemen lies in bolstering an internal settlement process. As a first step, we must promptly launch the implementation of the relevant road map, which is about to be agreed upon through the efforts by the UN and the states of the region. We firmly believe that progress on the political track in this country will pave the way to scaling down and ultimately stopping military activity by Ansar Allah.
On this note, we call on the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Mr. Hans Grundberg, to expedite the necessary steps to finalize the relevant arrangements. We see no grounds for linking the Yemeni settlement to regional processes. Nor do we see any reason why the Yemeni people should wait for comprehensive peace to set up in the Greater Middle East so that they could begin to improve the situation in their own country. There is no alternative to the inclusive political process, which implies due regard to the legitimate interests of all leading political forces in the country and direct dialogue with all protagonists, including Ansar Allah.
Let me reiterate that in order to find a lasting regional solution and avoid relapses into violence, we must not lose sight of the key factor for stabilization in the region, which is a swift cessation of hostilities in Gaza and a long-term settlement in Lebanon and Syria. In general, what we need today more than ever is dialogue mechanisms that could foster healthier relations between the countries of the region. These mechanisms, however, should not ignore the basic problem destabilizing the entire Middle East, which is the failure to implement UNSC and UNGA resolutions regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state. If it is the case, many conflict situations will be effectively resolved; inter alia, safe navigation in the Red Sea will be ensured, which is something that Russia is actively seeking.
Madam President,
In conclusion, we would like to note the contribution of the outgoing five members of the Security Council to the work of the Council, and we wish every success to new UNSC members who are taking up duty on January 1.
Thank you.
