MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has discussed the sharp escalation of the situation in the Red Sea region with Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Russia Mohammed Ahmed Sultan Essa Al Jaber, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"[The two sides] exchanged opinions on the key issues of the Middle Eastern agenda with the emphasis on the developing situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the sharp escalation of the situation in the Red Sea area," the diplomatic agency noted.

It added that the sides discussed the pertinent issues of the further strengthening of multifaceted Russian-UAE cooperation. The meeting was held at the request of the UAE envoy.

Overnight on January 12, the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom delivered joint strikes on positions of the Yemen-based Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement in several Yemeni cities, including Sana’a and Hudaydah, using aircraft, warships and submarines. US President Joe Biden said the operation was carried out in response to "unprecedented Houthi attacks" on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and that the strikes were delivered in self-defense. Houthi missile sites, drones and radiolocation systems were targeted.

After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. According to estimates by CENTCOM, the US Defense Department’s Central Command, the Yemeni rebel group has attacked more than 20 civilian vessels in the Red Sea since mid-November.