Houthis promised not to fire on Russian and Chinese vessels in exchange for political support

Russia has added to its friendly relations with the Hamas terrorist group and the North Korean dictatorship an agreement with Yemeni militants who have been shelling commercial vessels in the Red Sea since the end of last year.

Source. Several people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.

During talks in Oman with Mohammad Abdul-Salam, one of the Houthis' political leaders, diplomats from Russia and China were promised not to attack their ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

In exchange, they said, representatives of Moscow and Beijing promised to support the Houthis in organisations such as the UN Security Council. It is unclear what this support might be, but it is possible that Russia and China will block resolutions against the militants. In early January, they abstained from voting on a resolution introduced by the US and Japan that strongly condemned the shelling of ships.

The Houthis are a paramilitary group that has been acting against the Yemeni government since 2004 and eventually seized the capital. It is the de facto ruling organisation in Yemen, but is not recognised by the UN, the Gulf Cooperation Council or most other countries. The Houthis enjoy the covert military and financial support of Iran, which, in particular, supplies them with missiles and drones and provides information for strikes.

The Houthis have been obstructing shipping in the Red Sea for several months now, ever since Israeli forces launched an operation in the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas attack on 7 October. The Houthis claim to be targeting only ships linked to Israel, but two Russian oil tankers have been hit by their fire in the past.