Comment by the Foreign Ministry on the situation in Yemen

The military and political situation in the Republic of Yemen (RY) has worsened sharply.

In the early hours of March 26, the Saudi Arabian Air Force carried out strikes on a number of sites in Yemeni territory, including the capital Sanaa, in response to an offensive by the Ansar Allah rebels on Aden, RY’s second major city. Backed by the Arab nations of the Persian Gulf (with the exception of Oman) and several other countries, and with logistical help from the United States, Riyadh is acting at the request of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

There have been preliminary reports of casualties both among the civilian population and the Ansar Allah rebels. The Russian embassy and the consulate general in Sanaa and Aden have taken additional security measures and are working as usual. According to information from our diplomatic missions, none of the Russian citizens permanently residing in Yemen were hurt during the night air strikes.

Moscow is extremely concerned over the latest developments in the friendly Republic of Yemen, the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of which we have always and consistently supported. We consider it very important that all the parties involved in the Yemeni conflict and their external allies immediately cease any forms of warfare and give up attempts to achieve their goals through military force. We are convinced that the deep-running contradictions in Yemen can be resolved only on the basis of a broad national dialogue.

Russia, for its part, will step efforts towards promoting peaceful solutions to the conflict in Yemen both in its contacts with the parties involved in the Yemeni events, and at the United Nations.