Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer, is in negotiations with Yemen's Houthi rebels over supplying them with automatic rifles, according to Western sources.
Bout's latest suspected connections with the Houthis are limited to small arms, according to authorities, but the Kremlin is likely to have approved the trade owing to its sensitive nature. National security officials have lately warned that the Putin administration is in separate negotiations with the Houthis to provide them with advanced anti-ship missiles, which would boost the group's ability to target the US.
Both Bout and the Putin government have denied plans to equip the Houthis. Nonetheless, Bout told Russian newspaper RBC on Monday that he respected the Houthis for their accomplishments despite having "insufficient resources."
In the 1990s and 2000s, Viktor Bout established himself as a successful arms smuggler. According to UN and US Department of Justice investigations, he provided weapons to extremist organizations and governments in Africa and the Middle East, fueling deadly conflicts that killed thousands of people.