PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday that airstrikes on two Saudi oil facilities were unacceptable and threatened regional security, while the British foreign minister said the attacks undermined the confidence needed to resolve the conflict in Yemen.
French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Mol said in a statement that France condemned the attacks, which the Houthis claimed responsibility for.
She said her country called on all parties "to refrain from any escalation likely to risk the political process to end the conflict in Yemen."
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said peace in Yemen was closer than ever before, stressing that diplomatic wisdom was capable of achieving results.
He said the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia yesterday undermined the confidence needed to resolve the conflict.
Yesterday, a military spokesman for the Houthis said that seven Houthi-guided aircraft carried out attacks on oil facilities near Yanbu, led to a complete cessation of oil pumping, and directly affected what he called "enemy economy."
A spokesman for the Houthis group, Mohamed Abdel Salam, said that what he described as the group's major military operation against Saudi oil facilities was a transition to a new phase of escalation against Saudi Arabia.
He pointed out that the new stage in the escalation against the so-called "brutal enemy" will be the title of the most prominent is open economic targeting until Saudi Arabia ceases to target Yemen, and stop attacking Yemenis.
He pointed out that his group has a list of sensitive targets and exceptional and more than the Saudis expect, and will be targeted later if he does not stop what he calls an aggression against his country.