Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich
Russia
has censured the Saudi military aggression against Yemen, saying the
offensive is not the right way to settle the crisis in the Arab country. “Such
a scenario cannot lead to the conflict’s settlement by definition. By
the way, a peaceful settlement of disputes is a UN Charter requirement,”
said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich on
Thursday as cited in an Interfax report. The Russian official
warned the United States and other countries backing the operation
against Yemen of its serious consequences for regional security. “This
is a very serious threat to regional security while the conflict in
Syria hasn’t been settled and conflict areas exist actually throughout
the entire region of the Middle East and North Africa,” Lukashevich said
at a news briefing in Moscow, reacting to the support announced by
Washington for the military aggression against Yemen. “The armed
methods of resolving internal Yemeni problems are categorically
unacceptable. We will be working with the Yemeni parties and the
countries involved in this operation, including on the UN forum, in
order to stop this rampancy as soon as possible,” he added. The
Russian official also called on all parties to the Yemeni conflict and
their foreign allies to halt any sort of military engagement
immediately. “We deem it extremely important that all parties to
the Yemen conflict and their external allies immediately stop any forms
of military action and abandon attempts to attain their ends through
weapons,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a commentary posted on
its official website on Thursday, adding, “We are convinced that the
underlying conflicts existing in Yemen can be settled only based on a
broad nationwide dialogue.”
“In my
opinion, the military campaign will be absolutely unsuccessful for the
Saudis. I have no faith in the ability of the Saudis to achieve
something in Yemen. The Army of Saudi Arabia is really nothing: there is
emptiness behind [its] beautiful [military] gear,” said Leonid Isayeve
of the Higher School of Economic pedagogue.
“This army is
inferior to the Yemenis by its combat readiness. The Saudi army has
never fought anyone in its history. They simply cannot do that," he
added, as quoted in an Interfax report on Thursday.
“If they
decide that Yemen should strike back on Saudi Arabia, Ansarullah will
not be the only movement to fight, the entire population of Yemen will
get involved, and that is serious,” the Russian expert underlined,
noting “I think that unless the Saudis come to their senses, their
actions may lead to a large-scale conflict and I am positive that
victory will not be won by the countries that get involved in the war
against Yemen.”
Saudi Ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubair said
on Wednesday that his country had started to deliver airstrikes against
the Houthis in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a.
The blatant
invasion of Yemen’s sovereignty by Saudi government comes against a
backdrop of total silence on the part of international bodies,
especially the United Nations. The world body has so far failed to show
any reaction whatsoever to violation of the sovereignty of one of its
members by Riyadh.
MFB/HSN/SS
