Ending NATO’s 'military escapades' would guarantee security in Red Sea

MOSCOW, January 17. /TASS/. Putting an end to the "endless military escapades" of the North Atlantic Alliance would warrant maritime safety in the Red Sea, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing.

"The strikes on Yemen, the latest military escapade of the [United] States and the United Kingdom in the region, led to an even greater escalation," the diplomat said. "Putting an end to the endless military escapades of NATO member countries which describe themselves as coalitions while defying international law without [UN] Security Council authorization" would guarantee security in the Red Sea, she added.

In the past few decades, the military bloc has consistently failed to alleviate the suffering of people or resolve crises by these means, Zakharova continued. "Exactly the opposite has happened, and, unfortunately, this already critical situation is getting worse by the day," she lamented.

Overnight on January 12, the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom delivered joint strikes on Houthi positions in Sanaa, Hodeida and other Yemeni cities. US President Joe Biden said the operation was carried out in response to "unprecedented Houthi attacks" on commercial shipping vessels 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. The Yemeni rebel group has attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea since mid-November.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES