Truce in Yemen has ‘saved countless lives,’ Biden says
The truce in Yemen has “saved countless lives” said US President Joe Biden, marking the first anniversary of the ceasefire.
Mr Biden’s remarks came as UN Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg and others said the country faces a “critical time” a year after the ceasefire quelled violence across the country.
“One year that has saved countless Yemeni lives, enabled increased humanitarian assistance to flow, allowed Yemenis to travel throughout the Middle East and set the conditions for a comprehensive peace,” Mr Biden said.
He said keeping the truce and pushing for a peace plan “has been a focus of my administration’s engagement with partners in the Middle East”.
Mr Biden said the US was fully committed to regional partners and to preventing Saudi Arabia and the UAE from facing “Iranian-enabled attacks”.
“The fact that cross-border attacks from Yemen have ceased in the last year, as well as air strikes inside Yemen, is another positive outcome,” he said.
The US State Department urged parties to “seize this opportunity to create a brighter future for Yemenis”.
“The recent deal to release almost 900 detainees from all sides of the Yemen conflict represents another important step forward,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.
Mr Grundberg, a Swedish diplomat and UN envoy since 2021, called the UN-brokered truce that took effect in April last year a “moment of hope” and said it was largely holding, despite lapsing in October.
“But the truce’s most significant promise is its potential to jumpstart an inclusive political process aimed at ending the conflict,” Mr Grundberg said. About a decade of war in Yemen has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“There are still significant risks,” Mr Grundberg said, calling for protection of “the gains of the truce and to build on them towards more humanitarian relief, a nationwide ceasefire and a sustainable political settlement that meets the aspirations of Yemeni women and men”. A reconciliation deal announced last month between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back rival sides in Yemen’s war, added to the optimism that started last year with the truce.
Riyadh is leading a military coalition on behalf of the deposed legitimate Yemeni government while Tehran backs the Houthi rebels.
Amid renewed fighting and warnings from the rebels, Mr Grundberg said: “The military, economic and rhetorical escalation of recent weeks is a reminder of the fragility of the truce’s achievements.”
He urged the government and the Houthis to “sit and responsibly engage in dialogue” that would lead to “a peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
“Now is the time for dialogue, compromises and a demonstration of leadership and serious will to achieve peace,” Mr Grundberg said.