MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. A Russian delegation has visited Yemen and Moscow is maintaining interactions with all parties to the Yemeni conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who serves as special presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa, told TASS.
"[We are maintaining] communications with all parties to the Yemeni conflict: both in Aden, and in Sana'a, and abroad," he said. "Our embassy is in Riyadh, unfortunately, this is far from Yemeni soil; this is just the way it has shaped up historically over recent years. Recently, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at our Foreign Ministry, Mr. [Alexander] Kinshchak finally traveled to Yemen for the first time, visited Aden, met with the leadership there right on site, as they say," the senior diplomat added.
Bogdanov noted that, "various political forces are in control of different parts of Yemen, but Russia interacts with all of them."
Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, the head of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, has chosen Russia as the destination of his first overseas visit. His talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are slated for February 27.
Ahead of the visit, Yemen’s state-owned Saba news agency reported that bin Mubarak plans to discuss bilateral relations, certain issues on the regional agenda and "the role of Russia in contributing to security and peace in Yemen."
Bin Mubarak was named Yemen’s new prime minister on February 5 while he retained the post of foreign minister, a position he has held since the end of 2020.