The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the U.S.-British airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen as “another example of the Anglo-Saxons’ perversion of U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the strikes demonstrated “total disregard for international law in the name of escalating the situation in the region for their own destructive purposes.”
Zakharova railed that the strikes were “a direct threat to global peace and security,” and demanded condemnation from the international community.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the strikes were “illegitimate” from the “point of view of international law.”
Peksov added that the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping were also “extremely wrong,” and asked the terrorists to “abandon the practice.”
Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations on Thursday night requested an “urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council in connection with attacks by the United States and Great Britain on Yemen.”
The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution on Wednesday that demanded the Houthis cease all attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea. Russia was one of four nations to abstain from the vote. Russia also made three unsuccessful attempts to weaken the resolution with amendments.
Moscow has violated all rules of international conduct and every principle of the United Nations by launching its brutal invasion of Ukraine, triggering humanitarian crises both in Ukraine and around the world. Russian strongman Vladimir Putin is a wanted criminal with an outstanding International Court of Justice (ICJ) arrest warrant for perpetrating crimes against humanity by allegedly kidnapping thousands of Ukrainian children.
The Houthis are not the legitimate government of Yemen, but rather an illegal guerrilla terror group that toppled the internationally-recognized government by force in 2014. The Houthis are also war criminals many times over, with offenses including the use of child soldiers.
The Houthi insurgency unleashed one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, plunging millions into poverty, sickness, and hunger, with no significant condemnation from the Russians.
Contrary to Russia’s complaints, international law clearly recognizes the right of self-defense exercised by American and British naval forces in their strikes against the Houthi terrorists. The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at both navy vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis have absolutely no recognized international legal right to interfere with freedom of navigation in the region.
INTERNATIONAL WATERS RED SEA, YEMEN – NOVEMBER 20: This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen’s Houthi fighters’ takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on November 20, 2023 in the Red Sea, Yemen. On Monday, the Houthi movement in Yemen released footage and photos of the Houthi-run coastguard taking over the Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader Vessel in the Red Sea, which had 52 people onboard. Galaxy Leader is owned by Galaxy Maritime Ltd in the Isle of Man and is linked to Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar through Ray Car Carriers. (Photo by Houthi Movement via Getty Images)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and several of its member states issued statements on Friday asserting the strikes were “defensive and designed to preserve freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.”
NATO member France said it would unapologetically “continue shouldering its responsibilities and contributing to maritime security in the area” because “states have the right to respond to these attacks, in accordance with international law.”
