We are keeping a close watch on the military, political and humanitarian situation in the Republic of Yemen as fighting continues on its territory between supporters of the Houthi movement Ansar Allah and armed formations loyal to President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

In this connection, we paid attention to the latest reports about alleged agreements to hold talks in Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, between representatives of the Houthis and a UN delegation. As we understand, these contacts are supposed to pave the way for discussions on the resumption of full-fledged intra-Yemeni consultations that have been frozen since their previous round in Kuwait City in the spring-summer of 2016.

Moscow would eagerly welcome this scenario as matching our principled viewpoint that it is up to the Yemenis themselves to determine the future of their own state and achieve national harmony on the subsequent reconstruction of Yemen with due regard for the opinions if all key Yemeni political forces.

We have taken notice of the intention of the “Arab coalition” supporting President Hadi to embark on a comprehensive humanitarian operation that envisages the delivery of relief aid to the worst-stricken areas of Yemen and the opening of land, sea and air corridors needed for these purposes. We hope that these measures will in fact help alleviate the suffering of Yemeni civilians, who are facing acute shortages of food, medicines and other essential goods.