Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh says the new government in the country is ready to cooperate with Russia against "terrorism" by allowing Russian access to Yemeni military bases.
“Russia is the closest to us and we extend our hand to Russia to cooperate in the field of combating terrorism,” Saleh said in an interview with state-run Russia 24 TV channel on Sunday.
He said Yemen was ready to open the country’s military bases to Russia.
“We provide all the facilities in our bases, airports and sea ports. We are ready to provide all facilities to the Russian Federation,” he said.
He said, however, that such cooperation would not mean Russia would be fighting alongside Yemeni forces against Saudi forces waging war on Yemen.
In addition to conflict between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, both Daesh and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have footholds in the country. Both militant groups have conducted suicide bombings and attacks in the country, disregarding ceasefires and peace negotiations.
Russia has not responded to the offer.
This article has been edited from the original.
