Russia, China reject US-UK strikes on Yemen during UNSC meeting
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Russia's representative to the UN says the strikes carried out by the US and UK on Yemen have "nothing in common" with the right to "self-defense".
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The UN Security Council meets on the situation in the Middle East. (UN Photo/Manuel Elias)
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held Saturday an emergency session in New York, called for urgently by Russia, to discuss the widening crisis in the Middle East and the recent US-British aggression on Yemen.
Russia's representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, called the joint US-UK strikes on Yemen "blatant armed aggression against another country."
Commenting on the airstrikes, Nebenzia considered that protecting commercial ships is one matter, and bombing other countries is a different and illegal matter.
Nebenzia mentioned that the so-called international coalition of several countries launched air and naval attacks, including Tomahawk missiles against Yemeni cities, including Taiz, Sanaa, and Saada.
"These [coalition] states all carried out a mass strike on Yemeni territory. I'm not talking about an attack on some group within the country but an attack on the people of the country on the whole. Aircraft were used, warships and submarines," he said.
The Russian diplomat said the same destruction has been unfolding in Gaza and warned that the war is expanding in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, adding that the coalition threatens to expand the confrontation further without regard for international law.
According to Nebenzia, the massive strikes by the US and UK have "nothing in common" with the right to "self-defense".
"The actions of the coalition violate Article II of the UN Charter," Nebenzia stressed. "The freedom of navigation is governed by the Law of the Sea."
Nebenzia said that Russia warned against such a scenario, recalling that the UNSC's attempts to call for a ceasefire in Gaza have been obstructed by the United States.
He added that the US and its allies have a record of gross violations, adding that Washington is also covering up its actions in Syria with "a fig leaf."
Touching on the situation in the Gaza Strip, Nebenzia said the Middle East is now facing a critical situation, warning that "if the escalation continues, the region could encounter a catastrophe," for which the US bears its responsibility.
Elsewhere, the Russian diplomat called on the international community to condemn the attacks on Yemen and for further international efforts to end the violence in the Middle East.
China: The last thing the region needs is reckless military adventures
On his part, China's representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said that the last thing the region needs is reckless military adventures, adding that what is required is dialogue, consultation, and restraint.
Zhang stressed that no state should misinterpret the Security Council's resolution, referring to the need not to exploit the UNSC's resolution on January 10, 2722, which condemned the Yemeni operation in the Red Sea, to justify the recent strikes on Yemen.
The Chinese representative added that the attacks on Yemen did not stop at the destruction of facilities but further escalated tensions in the region, wondering how these attacks contribute to a political solution to the Yemeni crisis.
He also pointed out that hoping the war in Gaza does not expand is just an illusion.
Later, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, told the UN Security Council, "We are witnessing the cycle of violence that risks grave political security, economic and humanitarian repercussions in Yemen and the region."
"These developments in the Red Sea and the risk of exacerbating regional tensions are alarming," he said.
Khiari indicated that the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations "following the adoption of the Security Council resolution and yesterday’s [Thursday’s] events further demonstrate that the region is on a dangerous escalatory trajectory which could potentially impact millions in Yemen, the region and globally."
Read more: France abstains from supporting US-UK aggression on Yemen
