Yemen negotiations in Oman and Saudi Arabia yield nationwide ceasefire commitment, UN envoy says
Yemen’s warring parties have committed to a set of measures to implement a nationwide ceasefire, improve living conditions in the country and engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN supervision, the world body said on Saturday.
The announcement followed a series of meetings with the two sides, including the President of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al Alimi, and the Houthi rebels’ chief negotiator Mohammed Abdul Salam, in Riyadh and Muscat, the office of the UN special envoy for Yemen said.
“Thirty million Yemenis are watching and waiting for this new opportunity to provide for tangible results and progress towards lasting peace. The parties have taken a significant step,” said UN envoy Hans Grundberg.
Mr Grundberg will engage with the parties to establish a road map under the auspices of the UN.
The road map will include the parties’ commitment to implement a nationwide ceasefire, pay all public sector salaries, resume oil exports, open roads in Taiz and other parts of Yemen, and further ease restrictions on Sanaa Airport and the Hodeidah port.
It will also establish how the ceasefire will be implemented and prepare for a Yemeni-owned political process under UN supervision.
Mr Grundberg expressed his deep appreciation for the key roles of Saudi Arabia and Oman in supporting the parties to reach this point.
He urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint at this critical time to allow for a conducive environment for dialogue and for agreement on the road map.
Since it began in 2014, the civil war in Yemen has killed more than 150,000 people, displaced three million, and caused a dire humanitarian crisis, with 80 per cent of its population reliant on aid.
The progress in talks comes after the Iran-backed Houthis, allied to Hamas, attacked several ships in the Red Sea, claiming they were linked to Israel.
The Houthis have said they will continue their attacks on ships believed to be bound for Israel as long as the country continues its war in Gaza. In the months running up to the Israel-Gaza war, there had been relative optimism about the prospects for peace in war-torn Yemen, which has been ravaged by one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
A UN-brokered ceasefire in April last year reduced fighting to a level that has largely held, despite the truce expiring six months later. In September, Saudi Arabia hosted Houthi representatives for several days of talks, in the first official visit by a Houthi delegation to the kingdom since 2014.