Foreign Ministry denounces UN Security Council’s statement on Yemen

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sanaa strongly condemned on Friday the Security Council’s recent press statement regarding Yemen, and its attempt to manipulate the facts of events and accuse Sanaa of posing a threat to the peace process in Yemen and to maritime security.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement “Although Sanaa has taken official announced steps and measures to clarify its position to the world earlier, and has communicated with all countries, oil companies and those oil tankers, that it will not allow the wealth of the Yemeni people to be looted within the framework of its internationally recognized borders, thus fulfilling its responsibility guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen and international law in defending the country’s sovereignty and preserving the interests and wealth of the Yemeni people from any looting or abuses.”

The statement called on the Security Council to understand the nature of the warning message implemented by the armed forces in its correct context without any interpretation, and that it was not an aggressive or offensive message in the middle of the sea or the international navigation path, but rather a warning message inside Yemeni territorial waters and directed to deter those who wanted to continue in looting and stealing Yemen’s oil and natural resources.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that this message did not result in any human casualties or material losses in the facilities due to its warning nature at this stage, while leaving options open for a wider range of strict measures towards those who think of trying to repeat the looting of natural resources from all Yemeni lands and ports.

The ministry confirmed that Sanaa is still serious about moving towards a just and honorable peace, and that it supports the efforts undertaken by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen.

The statement added, “The efforts of the UN envoy must be accompanied by serious steps to end the aggression and lift the comprehensive siege, by implementing urgent humanitarian steps that address the repercussions of the humanitarian catastrophe, the most important of which is not impeding the entry of ships loaded with oil derivatives and domestic gas to the port of Hodeida and not placing obstacles in front of commercial airlines to and from Sanaa International Airport without setting any preconditions, as well as  taking practical executive steps to pay the salaries of all state employees without exception, knowing that the necessary financial resources are available through the export of Yemeni oil and gas.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs renewed its call to the Security Council to investigate the facts of matters and not be used as a council for the interests of specific and influential countries, and to be a Security Council for all countries of the world to carry out its responsibilities in accordance with the purposes of the United Nations Charter.

The ministry urged the Security Council to work on issuing a new, binding resolution that would prepare the atmosphere for starting negotiations for a peaceful political settlement in order to reach a comprehensive peace that preserves the territorial integrity and stability of the Republic of Yemen and establish healthy neighborly relations based on the principle of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.