Russia says backs Yemen's legitimate government, rejects rebel coup
Date
8/21/2016 1:02:58 AM
(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
RIYADH, 20th August, 2016 (WAM) --- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, today reiterated that Russia's support for Yemen's legitimate government is unwavering, a position that was made clear by the statement of ambassadors of the group of 18 states sponsoring peace efforts in Yemen.
The so-called political council, formed recently by the rebel Houthi group and militias loyal to the now-ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, was a "unilateral action that Russia does not recognise," Bogdanov, who is also President Vladimir Putin's Special Envoy for the Middle East, was quoted by Yemen's state news agency as saying during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Abdel Malek Mekhlafi.
He further stressed that Russia backs legitimate governments and does not recognise any coups in the whole region, including in Yemen.
Affirming Russia's keen interest in Yemen's unity, security and stability, Bogdanov said, "It is difficult for stability to exist in a country where illegitimate forces take up arms."
He said Russia and Yemen agree on the need for backing the efforts being made by the UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to reach a peaceful solution based on the three terms of reference: the Gulf Cooperation Council's initiative and its executive mechanisms, the outcome of Yemen's National Dialogue Conference and the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, including Resolution No. 2216.
On his part, Al Mekhlafi stressed that the Yemeni government led by Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi continues to take a keen interest in peace as an essential option to "restore the looted state and preserve its intuitions from futility and destruction."
He further described the so-called political council as an attempt to legalise the rebel coup that violated the agreed terms of reference of a peaceful solution.
Unilateral actions taken by the rebels contravene the requirements for peace, Al Mekhlafi added.
WAM/MMYS