Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi undermines Yemeni reconciliation process
Leonid Slutsky said that the attacks expose outrageous political recklessness
The Ansar Allah movement’s drone attack on Abu Dhabi puts into question prospects for peaceful settlement of the crisis in Yemen and constitutes a breach of the international law, said prominent Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky .
“Those cynical attacks not only blatantly violate norms of the international humanitarian law, but also undermine prospects for peaceful settlement of the Yemeni crisis based on relevant UN Security Council resolutions and decisions made in the format of the intra-Yemeni dialogue,” said Slutsky, who chairs the Committee on International Affairs of the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma.
In his words, the attacks “expose outrageous political recklessness”.
“Ansar Allah does not protect anyone. On the contrary, it persistently commits crimes against the unfortunate people of Yemen, who inevitably fall victim to this spiraling violence. Instead of taking the path of de-escalation, masterminds of those attacks are relying on confrontation, ignoring humanitarian consequences that their reckless acts will entail for Yemen, hit by one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the present day,” the lawmaker continued.
The head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs strongly condemned those attacks.
“The fact that the UAE capital was chosen as the target is particularly disgraceful, given that Abu Dhabi, under the leadership of Crown Prince and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, – who is a reliable friend and a trusted partner of Russia – pursues the steady course towards maintaining peace and stability in the Persian Gulf zone, mitigating regional controversies. Abu Dhabi is delivering impressive amounts of humanitarian assistance to a whole range of countries and is taking part in early recovery and reconstruction projects in Yemen,” Slutsky said.
He called upon masterminds of the attack to “come to their senses and refrain from such actions in the future,” advising them to seek a political solution instead. Moscow is ready to support Yemeni reconciliation and stabilization by all means necessary, he added.
On Monday, drones attacked facilities of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and a construction site in the vicinity of Abu Dhabi International Airport. As a result, at least three people were killed and six injured in a fire that broke out at an ADNOC facility.
The Al Mayadeen TV channel reported, citing Houthi military spokesman General Yahiya Saria, that the targets in the UAE were attacked by five ballistic and cruise missiles and a large number of drones. The general warned that Ansar Allah was ready to broaden the list of potential targets, adding more important facilities to it. He described the UAE as a “dangerous country that continues its aggression against Yemen.”.
