The United States of America called on the UN Security Council to take steps to strengthen the United Nations verification and inspection mechanism to stop the flow of weapons to the Houthis by Iran, or any other party.

The alternate representative for political affairs at the US mission to the United Nations, Robert Wood, stressed the importance of intensifying efforts and providing the necessary funds for the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism in Yemen to employ additional observers and fulfill its mission.

He pointed out that there are worrying reports that one of the permanent members of this council has considered supplying the Houthis with hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missiles and may negotiate to give them small arms, in reference to Russia.

On the other hand, Russia said that Yemen is increasingly being drawn into a broader regional conflict amid ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and other regions of the Middle East.

Russian representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, indicated that the Houthis must stop any actions that hinder freedom of navigation and pose a danger to commercial ships, pointing out that the American-British strikes on Yemen are unacceptable.

He indicated that there is a need for further movement towards finalizing the roadmap for the political process in the country, stressing the need to update the legal and regulatory framework for the Yemeni settlement so that it better reflects the situation on the ground, he said.

For its part, Britain called for urgent regional calm and progress towards sustainable peace in Yemen, calling on the Houthis to avoid dragging Yemen into a regional conflict.

The British representative to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, urged international donors to work together to provide sufficient and expected funding to strengthen the ability of the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism to prevent the flow of weapons.

She stressed the importance of the international community standing united in calling on the Houthis to immediately release UN staff and humanitarian workers.