UNITED NATIONS, January 4. /TASS/. Russia is seriously concerned of the situation in the Red Sea and is confident that developments there are the direct projection of violence in the Gaza Strip, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said.

"I think that hardly anyone of our counterparts will deny the fact that developments in the Red Sea are the direct projection of violence in Gaza, where the cruel operation of Israel continues already for three months," the Russian diplomat said at the meeting of the UN Security Council.

Russia has serious concerns regarding "the state of affairs in the Red Sea area," Nebenzya stressed. "Trade routes passing through it are a critical artery for international commerce," he noted.