Yemen counts on Russia’s assistance in overcoming military and political crisis - ambassador

MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Yemen highly appreciates support provided by Russia and pins special hopes on Russia’s efforts to overcome the military and political crisis continuing in that Arab country, Russian Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin told TASS on Monday. "Russia continues rendering Yemen necessary humanitarian aid," the ambassador said. "Last year, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry sent several planes with food. In particular, an Emergencies Ministry plane delivered 22,500 tons of humanitarian cargoes on November 6, 2015 and on its way back took 62 people on its board, including 24 Russian nationals," the ambassador noted. Russia has also paid $2 million to the UN World Food Program as a purposeful contribution to provide aid to Yemen. We plan to continue this practice," he added. "Both the Yemenis and the Russians have the proverb: a friend in need is a friend indeed," the ambassador said. "Yemen highly appreciates our support and pins special hopes on our efforts to overcome the military and political crisis. It is not without reason that Yemen counts on our unique available possibilities to work with all the parties to the conflict as compared to most Western partners who have lost, in particular, ties with both the leaders of Ansar Allah movement staying in Sana’a and with the leadership of the General People’s Congress (the party of ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh)," the Russian diplomat said. At the same time, "representatives of the Yemeni government in Riyadh and Aden, to which President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Vice-President, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah have recently moved, like their political opponents in Sana’s, know that Russia was and remains an influential force in the Middle East, including in the Republic of Yemen, and never gives up on its friends at a turning point in history," the Russian ambassador said.