Yemen FM calls on Saudi Arabia, UAE to take concrete steps toward peace
Foreign Minister of the Yemeni National Salvation Government, Hisham Sharaf, has called on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to take concrete steps towards peace in Yemen.
In a meeting with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg in Sana’a on Monday, the Yemeni foreign minister said, as their first step, the aggressors must stop preventing the entry of ships carrying oil products and gas to the port city of Al-Hudaydah and allow the reopening of Sana’a Airport without any logistical and bureaucratic obstacles for the movement of commercial and passenger flights and the transfer of Yemeni citizens.
Reimbursing the salaries of all government employees without exception is one of these measures that help alleviate the suffering of government employees who have been denied their rights for years, Sharaf added.
The Yemeni foreign minister stressed that the implementation of these humanitarian measures sends a positive message to the Yemeni people that genuine measures have been taken by the United Nations, and indicates that the other side is moving towards peace and a comprehensive and lasting political solution.
The foreign minister of the Yemeni National Salvation Government stressed the importance of the other side’s adherence to the provisions of the temporary ceasefire that has been implemented under the auspices of the United Nations and the need to stop the aggressors’ violations.
The UN special envoy for Yemen said there is an opportunity to strengthen the truce and turn it into a comprehensive ceasefire that will lead to a peaceful political settlement.
The UN-brokered two-month truce came into effect last week on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Saudi Arabia launched its war on Yemen in March 2015 in a bid to reinstate former Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close Saudi ally, and push Ansarullah forces out of key areas of Yemen. The United Arab Emirates has been the most important partner in the devastating war.
The disastrous military campaign has so far failed to achieve its goals. It has created a humanitarian catastrophe leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead.