U.S. and British strikes on Yemen are illegitimate under international law, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, stressing that Russia condemns them.
"They are illegitimate under international law. This is our position," Peskov said.
The spokesman pointed out that the UN Security Council had earlier passed a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning attacks in the Red Sea by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels and demanding an immediate end to them. Eleven UN Security Council members voted for the document, while four countries, including Russia, abstained.
"The countries that carried out the attack sought to justify their actions as lawful. However, they failed because the resolution adopted does not grant anyone the right to carry out strikes," the Kremlin spokesman said.
When speaking about Houthi attacks on international commercial ships, Peskov stressed that Moscow has repeatedly called on the Houthis to abandon this practice because it is extremely wrong.
What is happening in Yemen?
US and British aircraft, ships and submarines attacked Houthi targets in a number of Yemeni cities, including Dhamar, Saada, Sana’a, Taizz and Hodeidah, early on January 12. U.S. President Joe Biden claimed that the attack was "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks" in the Red Sea. The US administration said that the strikes targeted the launch sites of rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as radar stations belonging to the Houthi rebels.
Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis said they would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships with ties to Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave was halted.
