Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at UNSC briefing on the situation in Yemen

Mr. President,

We thank Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen H.Grundberg and UN OCHA Operations Director Reena Ghelani for the briefings on the political and humanitarian developments in Yemen.

We regret that the truce between the official authorities and the Houthis that expired almost two months ago has not been recovered yet. Thereby we must note that the situation on the ground is way better now than it used to be at the beginning of this year. Clashes only occur sporadically. Internationally recognized government acts in a reserved manner, and the situation in the country keeps from regressing into a “hot phase”. Commercial air traffic to Sanaa is maintained, and tankers carrying oil products keep entering the port of Hodeidah.

Nevertheless, the fragility of this state of affairs “in between war and peace” is obvious to all. In these circumstances, any provocative unilateral action is unacceptable, especially military action that violates the “silence regime” and entails further escalation. We call on all sides in Yemen (Houthis in the first place) to demonstrate maximum restraint and continue engaging constructively with SESG Grundberg, whose mediator efforts in searching for mutually acceptable solutions to the protracted Yemeni conflict always find our support.

Mr.President,

At this stage, the task of the Security Council as an international mediator is to not let the results of the half-year-long truce be reduced to naught. We repeatedly stated that a resolve to address the internal Yemeni conflict only through pressure leads to the opposite result. It is only direct contacts with the Houthis that can kick the ball rolling in terms of negotiations. So we welcome all channels of their communication and all opportunities that can effect practical results on the ground, promote stabilization and ultimately unlock a path to the full-fledged political process. There is no alternative to elaboration of all the required solutions in the framework of a broad inter-Yemeni dialogue with participation of all parties involved in the conflict.

On our part, we will continue providing adequate support to the international mediation in Yemen by means of maintaining contacts with all leading political forces in the country, and driving them towards adopting a constructive approach.

Mr.President, 

The obsession (which becomes clearly manifest now) of our Western colleagues with resuming unimpeded export of Yemeni hydrocarbons begins to raise our concern. Thereby issues of principle that impede efficient settlement of the crisis risk being left without attention. We would like to warn everyone against making this mistake, which already affects the settlement of other crisis situations in the Middle East in the most negative way.

The six months of truce made everyday life much easier for ordinary Yemenis, however the humanitarian situation remains dire. First need items, food, and medical supplies are scarce in some areas of the country, including Taiz.

We repeat again that basic necessities must be supplied to the Yemenis on a non-discriminatory basis. We call on all stakeholders to keep interacting with international financial institutions in this area, and also support the activities of the UN specialized agencies. Restrictions on humanitarian deliveries are unacceptable, same as steps that might impede the work of humanitarians.  

Thank you.