No military solution to conflict in Yemen, Eritrean foreign minister says - Middle East Eye
There is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen, and foreign powers will not be able to “subdue” the Yemeni people, senior officials in Eritrea, the East African country whose waters border Yemen’s in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, told Middle East Eye.
“There is no military option in Yemen, which must be given a chance to be peaceful,” Osman Saleh, the foreign minister of Eritrea, told MEE in an exclusive interview from Asmara, Eritrea’s capital.
Saleh also told MEE that littoral states must decide how to manage the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, but this was complicated by the fact that Yemen is not united under a cohesive government.
“Yemen is non-existent. The official government has no control. There is no 'Yemen',” he told MEE.
Eritrea sits in a strategic position, with 700 miles of Red Sea coastline. The territorial waters of Djibouti, Eritrea and Yemen comprise the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. At its narrowest point, the distance between Eritrea and Yemen across the Red Sea is approximately 20 nautical miles.
“There are so many eyes on the Red Sea. It is a historic route of navigation and trade,” Saleh told MEE during a rare interview at the Eritrean foreign ministry in Asmara, the country’s capital.
“Eritrea is in a very strategic position. We have a responsibility to safeguard the Red Sea to be a safe passage for all,” he said.
A lightning Houthi offensive down the Red Sea coast has changed the balance of power in the region, with the Houthis now controlling the entirety of Yemen’s coastline across from Eritrea and Djibouti, along with strategic islands.
Diplomats in the region say the Houthi offensive serves two purposes.
Iran’s leverage against the US and Gulf states is bolstered by the group controlling the Bab el-Mandeb. The Houthis are also in a better position to push for a toll in the waterway with vessels in range of basic artillery. Before their offensive, the Houthis were demanding fees from Saudi Arabia, MEE was told.
With the Houthis in control of the Arabian Gulf side of the waterway, Eritrea’s coastline is even more critical to global shipping.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), countries can claim up to 12 nautical miles for their territorial waters. Under international law, vessels have a right to transit straits freely, but some legal experts say states whose waters comprise them may have a right to charge piloting, service or environmental fees.
MEE asked Saleh how Eritrea views tolls in the waterway. He replied, “This is a new idea, a new concept. Because Iran raised it [in the Strait of Hormuz] doesn’t mean Eritrea will ask.”
“[But] there should be a discussion among littoral states and a decision how to ensure free passage,” he said. “If Yemen is non-existent, we can’t speak with it now about these issues.”
Another senior Eritrean official, speaking to MEE on condition of anonymity, said Asmara understands the Red Sea is “inseparable” from the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. “The Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz are together.”
The official added that no foreign power, inside or outside the Middle East, will be able to “subdue Yemen”.
