Russian diplomat says UK, US strikes on Yemen may cross out settlement efforts

Published January 24,2024

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A Russian diplomat stated on Wednesday that strikes by the US and UK on Yemen, launched in response to Houthi assaults within the Red Sea, might cross out two years of settlement efforts within the war-torn Arab nation.

Speaking in an interview with Russian state news company TASS, Russian cost d’affaires in Yemen Yevgeny Kudrov stated “in the best case” the launch of the political settlement will probably be postponed, within the worst, every thing achieved in final two years will probably be misplaced.

“We can confidently say that the effect of the US-British military adventures in the Red Sea on the prospects of a Yemeni settlement will be negative,” he stated.

“At best, the finalization of the roadmap, which is currently being handled by the special envoy of the UN secretary-general, Hans Grundberg, with the assistance of many international mediators, including Russia, and the long-awaited launch of the political process in Yemen, will be postponed for some time,” Kudrov stated.

“At worst, with a large-scale escalation of tension, we risk losing many, if not all, of the achievements of the past 1.5-2 years.”

Kudrov urged “to do everything” to keep away from the worst-case situation.

Yemen has been gripped in battle since Iran-backed Houthis took management of capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led navy intervention in help of the federal government forces in 2015. Currently, the preventing largely stays on maintain amid a peace course of between the warring sides.

It is, nonetheless, feared that the peace efforts may undergo a set again after Houthi assaults on industrial ships within the Red Sea in help of Palestinians, who’re underneath assault by Israeli forces because the Oct. 7 offensive by Hamas. The US and its allies have responded with air assaults on Houthi websites in Yemen.

The UK’s Defense Ministry in a joint assertion on Monday stated US and British forces hit eight Houthi targets in Yemen with the help of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands.