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Russia keeps close watch on Yemen

Russia is not likely to get too involved in the Yemen crisis, preferring instead to monitor developments from afar and choose its allies carefully.
Anti-Houthi protesters demonstrate in Yemen's central city of Ibb March 14, 2015. The rise to power of the Iran-backed Houthis since September has deepened divisions in Yemen's already complex web of political and religious allegiances, and left it increasingly cut off from the world. REUTERS/Mohammed al-Moailme (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR4TBWW

The deadly terrorist attacks in Yemen last week have further indicated that the country is sinking to new lows, threatening to become the hottest spot on the political map of the Middle East. Miles away from the region, in Moscow, experts and diplomats have been watchful of the developments in Yemen since earlier this year, when President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was to hold negotiations with representatives of the Houthi insurgency in Saudi Arabia.

Russia's relations with Yemen date back decades, with the most vibrant period being the Soviet era. The two states elaborated certain bilateral agendas long before the Soviet Union and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen established official diplomatic relations in 1955. Until the break-up of the USSR, about 4,500 Soviet military advisers and trainers worked in the country. 

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