"Red Sea Matter Of Concern, But...": Hardeep Puri To NDTV

Over the last months, Yemen's Houthi rebel group has been stepping up its attack on ships in the Red Sea shipping lane in retaliation to Israel's air strikes in Gaza.

The sudden risk in navigating the maritime routes of the Red Sea is a matter of concern, but "there is enough wisdom around" to not allow the situation to escalate, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri has told NDTV on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meet at Davos.

None of the state players involved want the situation to escalate and allow hostilities on a bigger scale, he said weeks after a merchant ship, Chem Pluto was struck by a drone 400 km of the Indian coastline.

"Any attempt to cause uncertainty even of perception in any sea route is a matter of concern," Mr Puri said. "But there is enough maturity and wisdom around to be able to navigate around this," he said.