Houthis Reassure Russia, China On Red Sea Transit In Exchange For Political Support
The Yemeni Houthi government has reassured Russian and Chinese officials that their ships can safely cross the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean without fear of attack, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
The Chinese and Russian diplomats reportedly met in Oman with Mohammad Abdul Salam, the spokesman and chief negotiator for Yemen's National Salvation Government (NSG), and "reached an understanding" about safe passage through the Red Sea and beyond.
"In exchange, the two countries may provide political support to [Yemen] in bodies such as the United Nations Security Council … It’s not entirely clear how that support would be manifested, but it could include blocking more resolutions against the group," the US news outlet cites their sources as saying.
Since mid-November, the Yemeni armed forces have conducted dozens of attacks on Israeli-linked vessels attempting to transit the Bab al-Mandab Strait as part of a military campaign in support of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Sanaa expanded its operations to include US and UK-linked ships after the two NATO allies started to drop bombs in areas controlled by the NSG. Concerns increased about the Red Sea crisis after the US militarized the key waterway in support of Israel's attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and China’s UN envoy Geng Shuang have blasted the US for illegally bombing the Arab world's poorest nation while failing to pressure Israel into accepting a diplomatic solution.
Polyansky said in mid-February, "An immediate cease-fire in Gaza will help stabilize the situation in the Red Sea, and the de-escalation in those waters will, in turn, unblock the efforts of [UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg]."
"I would like to reiterate that the Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen. International law and resolutions of the council should not be subjected to misrepresentation and abuse by any country," Shuang told the UN Security Council earlier this month.
"There is constant cooperation and development of relations between Yemen, Russia, China, and BRICS states, as well as an exchange of knowledge and experience in various areas. This is necessary to drown the US and the West in [the crisis] around the Red Sea, to get bogged down, weaken, and become unable to maintain unipolarity," Ansarallah politburo member Ali al-Qahoum said via social media earlier this week.
