12 January 2024 at 07:37
Espen Barth Eide on the Yemen attack: – I think the Americans will avoid a major regional conflict
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) tells NRK that the British-American attack in Yemen leads to concern that the conflict in the Middle East is escalating.
– It is a low-intensity conflict that is now spreading to the neighboring country. The basic conflict is the one we see in Gaza and in the Middle East. We must do everything we can to solve it, he says.
The foreign minister emphasizes that the Houthi militia’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea are not acceptable.
– It is a necessary corridor to get through the Suez Canal. A great deal of the world’s shipping traffic goes there. The UN Security Council has been very clear that the Houthis must stop this, he says.
Barth Eide hopes that there will not be a major regional conflict.
– I believe that the Americans will avoid this becoming a major regional conflict in which they become a part, he says.
He adds that Norway has been keen to communicate to the Houthis and their supporters that the attacks on civilian ships are a very bad idea.
– The most important thing now is to address the root problem, which is the conflict we see unfolding in Gaza and increasingly in the West Bank. It is, in a way, the source of a great deal of what happens. The regional spread cannot be stopped until the root problem is tackled.
According to Barth Eide, Norway did not participate in the attacks last night.
2024-01-12 06:37:30
#Espen #Barth #Eide #Yemen #attack #Americans #avoid #major #regional #conflict
