Saudi Arabia welcomes agreement between Yemeni government and Houthis

Jul 24. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Saudi Arabia welcomed the United Nations announcement on Wednesday that an agreement had been reached between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Houthi rebels to ease tensions between the two sides.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it hopes the agreement will “contribute to the parties sitting at the negotiating table” under the auspices of the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and that they can reach “a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis.”

He also said that Riyadh supports efforts to achieve peace and security for Yemen and its people, while continuing to advocate for initiatives to “de-escalate and maintain stability” in the region.

Grundberg revealed yesterday that the parties signed an agreement on Monday with multiple measures, including “cancelling all recent decisions and proceedings against banks and avoiding similar decisions and proceedings in the future.”

The agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels also provides for the resumption of flights by Yemenia Airways between the capital, Sanaa, and Jordan, and the operation of flights to Egypt and India.

The war in Yemen, which began in 2015, has plunged what was once one of the poorest countries in the world into one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of today, according to the United Nations. Efforts to push for a peace agreement between the rebels and the internationally recognised authorities, supported militarily by Riyadh, have so far failed to achieve a peace deal.

The agreement was announced just days after the Houthis carried out a drone attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv that left one dead, as part of their operations against the country and shipping in response to the offensive launched by Israel against the Gaza Strip following the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions.

The Israeli Air Force then carried out a series of airstrikes against the port city of Hodeida, described by Israeli authorities as a gateway for weapons sent by Iran to the rebels and therefore a “legitimate military target.” The attacks on the town left at least six dead and dozens wounded, according to the Houthis.