Houthi militias have begged Russian President Vladimir Putin for support against Yemeni government forces and the Saudi-led coalition which are tightening the noose on the insurgents and their Iranian-backed plan in Yemen. In a letter sent to Putin, head of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat warned that the coalition has been aiming to take control of all strategic maritime areas to put them under US influence and lay hands on international trade, official sources said on Thursday. According to the group, this letter aims at strengthening bilateral relations with friendly countries. Observers, however, viewed it as an attempt to legitimize the militia. Mashat presented himself in the letter as a speaker on behalf of the Yemeni government and people. He urged the Russian president to intervene to stop the battle of the West Coast, led by the legitimate government and Saudi-led coalition forces to liberate Hodeidah and its port and the Yemeni coast on the Red Sea. The legitimate forces have been trying to control sea ports from where Houthis receive weapons sent by Iran and military and technical support from the Lebanese “Hezbollah.” The letter claimed that the war waged by the legitimate government with the support of the Saudi-led coalition to end the coup is unjustified and violates UN charters, international laws and Yemen’s sovereignty, and threatens the world and the region, according to the Houthi version of Saba news agency. Ironically, the group used terms such as UN charters, international laws, and Yemeni sovereignty while in fact it violates everything mentioned in the letter. The group also claimed that the liberation of Hodeidah and the West Coast would transform the Red Sea into an American “lake” and would give Washington control of trade routes and power lines in Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Yemeni islands. Mashat claimed in his letter that the group looks forward for a Russian role that would stop the legitimate government’s and the coalition’s liberation operations, and would support a comprehensive political settlement that would meet the expectations of the Houthis in ruling Yemen and keeping its weapons in service to Iran.