Achi news desk-
READ MORE: Greens and Alba clash in front of Believe in Scotland pro-indy rally
His comments came after Pete Wishart, his longest serving MP, raised concerns about the number of pro-independence candidates standing against him.
“I’m probably going to be opposed by Alban and Alba’s ‘unofficial’ candidate in the General Election and maybe even Green too,” he tweeted over the weekend. “Does anyone know how this advances independence and helps keep the Tories out?”
I’m probably going to be opposed by Alba and an ‘unofficial’ Alba candidate in the General Election and maybe even a Green one too. Does anyone know how this advances independence and helps keep the Tories out?
— Pete Wishart (@PeteWishart) April 13, 2024
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Mr Yousaf said: “There is by far only one party that argues for the cause of independence – the SNP.
“So if you believe in independence and want to promote the cause of independence, I would encourage people to vote for the SNP.
“We are in government with the Greens, but we are different political parties.
“We have competed for votes in different elections before, so there is a real danger for those who believe in independence to vote Green and take votes away from the SNP.
“With all due respect to my Green colleagues, they are not going to win a seat in Westminster.
“There are a number of opportunities to promote the cause of independence to ensure that there are no more Tory MPs in Scotland, and to make sure that Scotland’s voice is heard in Westminster.
“So there is a risk that voting for another pro-independence party will split the vote.”
READ MORE: Yousaf: Voting Greens would be a ‘wasted vote’ despite the Holyrood partnership
In the interview, Mr Yousaf also criticized the UK Government for keeping him out of the loop regarding the role of the Air Force in defending Israel against an Iranian drone attack, which was launched in retaliation for a strike against the Iranian consulate in Syria.
He said he still had not received a briefing about the use of the jets.
“I join a number of voices now that call for regional de-intensification and we need that,” he said.
“Any regional escalation has been condemned by the Scottish Government, whether that be a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria or indeed the attack from Iran over the weekend.
“We don’t want to see any regional progress and so we need cool heads – and I think that’s the tragedy, at a time when we need the cool heads, I’m afraid we don’t seem to have that. ”
The Prime Minister reiterated his position that the solution to peace in the Middle East will not be a military one, but as a result of “dialogue and discussion and political discussion”.
Mr Yousaf was vocal before the Iranian attack that the UK should stop selling weapons to Israel which were then used in its conflict in Gaza, which he described as “morally unjustifiable”.
When asked if he still felt the same following the attack over the weekend, the Prime Minister said: “Israel has one of the most sophisticated soldiers and weapons in the whole world.
“But it also does not prevent, for example, allies as we saw during the weekend – the UK, the United States, using their own military capability to help defend.
“That is very different from an offensive operation, for example, that we have seen in Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children.”
