Russia warns against 'hasty steps' over Aramco attack

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned all regional and non-regional countries Monday to avoid steps, worsening the situation in the region, following a drone attack on the Saudi oil facilities.

"We have a negative view of the growing tensions in the region and call on all regional and non-regional countries not to make any hasty steps or conclusions that could only exacerbate destabilization," Peskov told reporters, commenting on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's allegations that Iran was behind the attack by coordinating drone strikes.

Earlier today, the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility over the attack, carried out on Saturday against two facilities of Saudi Arabia's oil company Aramco and warned the foreign companies and workers against coming close to the company's units which might "be targeted again".

In a separate statement, Russian Foreign Ministry expressed "serious concern" and "strongly condemned" strikes at the non-military facilities, saying the incident is a direct consequence on the Yemen conflict.

"We strongly recommend not to jump to conclusions about who carried out this attack on the Saudi oil facilities. We consider it counterproductive to use the happening to escalate tensions around Iran in line with the well-known U.S. line. And even more unacceptable are the options that provide for retaliatory force measures that are allegedly being discussed in Washington," the ministry said in a statement.

The Iran-backed Houthis, whose medium and long-range ballistic missiles are usually intercepted and neutralized by the Saudi air defense system, have targeted certain strategic locations of Saudi Arabia with armed drones.

Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Iran-aligned Houthi group overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated the following year, when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains to support the country’s pro-Saudi government.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the raging conflict since 2016, according to the UN estimates.