Yemen Monitor/ New York/ Exclusive:
The US and Russia engaged in a heated exchange at the UN Security Council on Tuesday over Yemen’s Houthi group, which continues to launch attacks in the Red Sea and expand its ties beyond Iran’s axis.
The discussion took place during a Security Council session on the situation in Yemen, where the UN envoy provided a regular briefing, as monitored by Yemen Monitor.
Robert Wood, the US representative to the Security Council, stated: “There are troubling public reports that a permanent member of this council has considered providing the Houthis with supersonic anti-ship ballistic missiles and may be negotiating to provide them with small arms.”
The US diplomat is alluding to reports suggesting Russia’s intent to arm the Houthis in Yemen, with discussions of negotiations through arms dealers linked to the Kremlin.
Wood added: “And so, the enforcement of the arms embargo imposed under Resolution 2216 has never been more important. Simply put: violators must know there will be costs for supplying the Houthis with weapons.”
He continued: “In addition, this council should take steps to strengthen the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism. This mechanism is essential to stop the flow of arms to the Houthis. However, it is currently hampered by funding gaps and staff shortages.”
The US diplomat said: “This mechanism is not perfect, but it is a means to ensure that weapons and related materials are not smuggled illicitly to the Houthis by Iran, or any other malicious actor.”
For his part, Russian Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia pointed out that “true stabilization of the situation in the waters adjacent to Yemen can be achieved by putting pressure on members of the coalition led by the US and the United Kingdom, which is randomly attacking the territory of this country.”
The Russian diplomat drew attention to the desire of representatives of many Western countries “to sound the alarm about the problems of UN staff in Yemen, which contrasts sharply with their reaction to the issue of UN staff in the Gaza Strip” who are subjected to attacks by the Israeli occupation army.
Nebenzia also reaffirmed Russia’s steadfast position regarding support for the safety of international navigation in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and other waters.
He called on the Houthis “to cease any actions that would impede freedom of navigation and pose a danger to commercial vessels, including fuel tankers, and we demand the immediate release of the ship Galaxy Leader and its crew.”
The Houthis have targeted more than 150 commercial vessels with missiles and drones since the start of the war in Yemen in October. They seized one ship and sank two others in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Coalition forces led by the US have also intercepted other missiles and drones in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which also included Western military vessels.
Iran denies arming the rebels, despite the discovery of weapons manufactured in Tehran on the battlefield and in sea shipments headed to Yemen in violation of the UN arms embargo.
