By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to continue providing monthly reports on any further attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis, spurring Russia to taunt the United States.
"We believe that amid present-day realities, the Security Council would be well advised to monitor attacks on commercial transport in the Caribbean, not the Red Sea," Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva told the 15-member body.
Since September, the United States has carried out a campaign of strikes against suspected drug traffickers off the coast of Venezuela. There have been around 20 strikes that have killed more than 80 people. The U.S. has also seized five tankers as it stepped up efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports.
The United States, speaking after Russia in the Security Council, did not respond to the Russian gibe.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Jennifer Locetta said the resolution adopted "reaffirms the council's responsibility for continued vigilance against the Houthi terrorist threat to the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways."
"The defense of freedom of navigation is a crucial element of international peace and security," she said.
Guterres has been reporting monthly to the Security Council for the past two years on attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi group. The resolution adopted on Wednesday asked him to continue reporting for another six months.
The Security Council took action in January 2024 as Houthi attacks disrupted maritime commerce, prompting some shipping lines to divert vessels from the Red Sea to longer routes, threatening to increase energy and food prices.
The Houthis had vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports to show support for Palestinian militants Hamas at war with Israel in Gaza. However, many of the targeted ships had no links to Israel. There have been no attacks in recent months.
(Reporting by Michelle NicholsEditing by Bill Berkrot)
