MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russia is firmly in favor of ensuring the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea, but it cannot agree with the US and British bombing raids on the territory of Yemen, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 13th Middle East Conference of the Valdai discussion club.

"Instead of joining collective efforts to de-escalate the situation Washington and London have started bombing Yemen. Once again, they have chosen the neocolonial option of responding militarily to what is happening," Lavrov said. "We are firmly in favor of ensuring the safety of commercial shipping, global transportation routes, including those in the Red Sea, but we cannot agree with such actions of the United States and Britain, which, under far-fetched pretexts, launch missile and bombing strikes on the territory of a sovereign state."

"It is clear that experience has proven many times that it is impossible to achieve a military victory in this way. What the Americans have always succeeded to do is to provoke a further expansion of the war zone and an increase in the intensity of hostilities, no matter what conflict they intervened in: Iraq, Libya, or Syria," Lavrov pointed out.

He drew attention to the fact that until recently the situation in Yemen had looked encouraging, primarily as a result of communication between Saudi Arabia and the Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) mediated by the Sultanate of Oman.

"As I understand it, a plan for a comprehensive settlement has been agreed in general terms, but the military adventure of the United States and its allies in the Red Sea has upset all prospects," he said.

Lavrov said that Russia would continue to work constructively with all countries in the region and "those who in other parts of the world are sincerely interested and have the ability to provide support."

Situation in the Red Sea

After the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement announced that it would be attacking Israeli territory and preventing ships associated with Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait as long as the operation in the Palestinian enclave continued. Since mid-November the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

On January 12, Britain and the United States used airplanes, ships and submarines to attack Ansar Allah targets in several cities in Yemen, including Sana'a and Hodeidah. The targets included missile and drone deployment sites, as well as the rebel’s radars.

On February 3, British and US forces struck 36 targets associated with the Houthis. On February 4, the US military reported another bombing raid on Yemeni territory, targeting five rebel cruise missiles.