27 (EUROPE PRESS)
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, has met between Monday and Tuesday with the main negotiator of the Houthis, Mohamed Abdulsalam, and with the president of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alami, to discuss the truce reached in early April between the parties to the conflict.
Grundberg met on Monday in Riyadh with Al Alimi, while on Tuesday he held a meeting in the capital of Oman, Muscat, with Abdulsalam, to whom he conveyed his wish that the agreement be extended beyond October.
“During today’s meeting with the UN representative, we affirmed our firm position to open Sana’a airport and Hodeida ports without hindrance, and pay employee salaries and retirees’ pensions,” Abdulsalam said in a statement. a message on his official Twitter profile.
For its part, the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen has stressed in a statement that Al Alimi conveyed to Grundberg “the commitment” of the Yemeni government “with the comprehensive approach to peace” of the Gulf initiative, the national dialogue and the resolutions relevant international laws, especially 2216, taken by the UN Security Council.
During his visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, Grundberg spoke with senior Saudi officials who expressed the country’s strong support for the UN’s efforts to extend the deal and achieve “a comprehensive ceasefire and lasting political settlement,” he said. this Tuesday the United Nations mission in a statement.
After that, the special envoy traveled to Muscat on Tuesday, where, on the sidelines of his meeting with the Houthi leader, he met with the country’s Foreign Minister, Badr Albusaidi, as well as other high-ranking Omani officials.
In all the conversations that he has had during his visit to the two countries, Grundberg has emphasized the need to promote “a longer extension” of the agreement with the aim of “giving the Yemenis the opportunity to advance” in their priorities, as well as “move toward inclusive political negotiations,” including a nationwide ceasefire.
“We are at a crossroads where the risk of a return to war is real and I urge the parties to choose an alternative that prioritizes the needs of the Yemeni people,” concluded the UN special envoy for Yemen.
The war in Yemen pits the internationally recognized government, now represented by the Presidential Leadership Council and supported by the aforementioned international coalition, against the Huthis, backed by Iran. The Houthis control the capital, Sana’a, and parts of the north and west of the country.
