To prevent their use in Yemen ... a resolution calling on the European Union countries not to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE

The European Parliament called on all EU member states to refrain from selling arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and any other member of the two-state-led coalition in Yemen, as well as to the Yemeni government and other parties to the conflict.

In a unified policy for arms exports that was voted on in a plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday, the European Parliament welcomed the decision of 9 member states to impose restrictions on their arms exports to members of the Riyadh-led coalition, which international organizations accuse of killing thousands of civilians in Yemen.

The European representatives also urged the 27 member states of the Union to follow the example of Germany, Finland and Denmark, which imposed restrictions on their arms exports to Riyadh after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi security team on October 2, 2018 in the consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

The European Parliament said that the weapons - which were supplied to Saudi Arabia - were used in Yemen, where the Saudi-led coalition has launched military operations since 2015.

This decision considered that these arms exports to Saudi Arabia blatantly violate the common European position on arms sales.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Hafez Maribeh said that the European Parliament wants, through this decision, to limit the spread of European weapons, noting that one of the MPs who adopted the decision said that selling more weapons in the Middle East region means more deaths and destruction.

The European Parliament during a previous voting session (Reuters)

A Russian

political

, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today, Wednesday, that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed - in a phone call with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan - that peace and stability in Yemen can only be achieved by taking into account the interests of all Yemeni political forces and sects.

Al-Kharhiya added - in a statement - that Lavrov and Bin Farhan discussed support for the United Nations efforts to reach a ceasefire, take urgent humanitarian measures, and launch a comprehensive political settlement process in Yemen.

She added that Lavrov referred - during the phone call, which took place at the initiative of the Saudi side - to the initiative that Moscow had proposed to develop a security concept in the Gulf region.