Russia closes embassy in Sanaa, moves envoy to Riyadh

Russian ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin and some diplomatic staff will temporarily be working out of the Saudi capital

epa06385609 Yemeni soldiers stand guard outside the Russian embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, 09 April 2017 (Issued 12 December 2017). According to reports, Russia suspended on 12 December 2017 diplomatic operations in Yemen and withdrew all its staff because of the security situation in the capital Sana’a, a week after Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by Houthi militants in Sana’a.  EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Russia suspended its diplomatic presence in Yemen and all its staff have left the country due to the situation in the capital Sanaa, said the Russian foreign ministry.

“Given the situation in Sanaa, the decision was made to suspend the Russian diplomatic presence in Yemen. The personnel of the Russian embassy have left the country,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency TASS.

She added that Russian ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin and some diplomatic staff will temporarily be working out of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Embassy staff and a number of Russian nationals left Sanaa earlier on Tuesday, reported the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), which cited a Saudi-led military coalition that is in Yemen fighting on behalf of the internationally-recognised government against Houthi rebels.

SPA added that the coalition received a request for permission for a Russian plane to evacuate embassy staff and that the aircraft left Sanaa airport.