Russia pulled back weapons shipment to Houthis
SMA NEWS – WASHINGTON
Russia was preparing to deliver missiles and other military equipment to the Houthi rebels in Yemen late last month but pulled back at the last minute amid a flurry of behind-the-scenes efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to stop it, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The Saudis, who were locked in a brutal war with the Houthis for years before the US helped to negotiate a fragile truce in 2022, warned Russia against arming one of their biggest adversaries upon learning of the plans, the sources said.
The US, which has been involved in several diplomatic efforts to stop the Russians from arming the Iran-backed rebels, separately asked the Saudis to help convince Moscow not to pursue the effort, two of the sources said.
The US-Saudi discussions and the imminent weapons transfer have not been previously reported. The Saudi Embassy in the US declined to comment and the Kremlin did not return a request for comment.
The US designated the Houthis as a global terrorist organization in January, following months of Houthi missile and drone attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea that killed several mariners and hobbled global trade. Despite several rounds of sanctions and US military attacks on Houthi weapons infrastructure, however, the rebels have continued to attack commercial ships in the crucial waterway.
A senior US official declined to discuss the specifics of Russia’s plans to arm the Houthis. But the official said that the US regards any attempt by a third party to bolster the Houthis’ weapons supplies “as antithetical to the goals we are pursuing” when it comes to achieving a lasting peace settlement in Yemen between the Houthis and the Saudis, and helping to stabilize the region. For the Houthis to engage in that kind of weapons transaction, moreover, “would demonstrate to us a lack of commitment” by the Houthis to peace talks, the official said.
Currently, the Houthis “appear to be drifting further away from a commitment to a negotiated peace in Yemen,” the official said.
