The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain rendered material support to the recent US-UK strikes against Yemen and signed a statement defending them, together with the attack’s perpetrators and Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and South Korea.
Three of Europe's largest countries and NATO members, however, refrained from doing either of these things.
According to Reuters, Italy was apparently asked to participate in the attacks but declined, arguing that doing so would require the approval of the Italian parliament, not to mention that Rome seeks a “calming” policy regarding the current shipping crisis in the Red Sea.
France also opted to distance itself from the US and UK efforts, with Paris reportedly being concerned that participating in these strikes would undermine its diplomatic efforts to prevent the crisis in the Middle East from spilling into Lebanon.
One diplomat also reportedly suggested that France did not believe that the US-led attacks on Yemen could be framed as legitimate self-defense.
Finally, Spain’s Minister of Defense Margarita Robles declared that her country “will always be committed to peace and dialogue” and therefore did not join the US-led military action.
The United States and Britain launched a series of missile and air strikes against Yemen on January 11, ostensibly in retaliation for the attacks by the Yemeni Houthi movement on Israeli-linked vessels navigating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis began attacking Israeli-related cargo ships in response to Israel’s brutal invasion of the Gaza Strip, with the Yemeni movement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian civilians there.