Truce reached on Hodeidah at UN talks
UAE welcomes breakthrough on Yemen, lauds Emirati soldiers’ role
RIMBO: UN Chief Antonio Guterres announced on Thursday a series of breakthroughs in peace talks with the warring parties in Yemen, including a ceasefire for a vital port city, Hodeidah.
In a highly symbolic gesture on the seventh and final day of the Un-brokered peace talks in Sweden, Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani and rebel negotiator Mohammed Abdelsalam shook hands to loud applause.
DEAL HAILED
The UAE has welcomed the political progress on Yemen, including the status of Hodeidah, reached during the Sweden Consultations.
Dr Anwar Bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said that there was “encouraging news” from Sweden, adding that important political progress
had been made, including on the status of Hodeidah. The Saudi-led Arab Coalition and Yemeni Forces applying military pressure helped enable said breakthrough, he continued.
Gargash expressed his sincere appreciation to the 5,000 Emirati soldiers and Yemeni forces for their readiness to liberate Hodeidah Port. “Their bravery and commitment made the diplomatic progress possible,” he continued.
Gargash also relayed his appreciation to the UN and the Special Envoy For YEMEN, Martin Grifiths, For THEIR “efforts,” “perserverence,” and their “commitment to peace and to the people of Yemen.”
Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid Bin Salman, welcomed the UN backed agreement between Yemen’s warring parties to A CEASEIRE In HODEIDAH.
“The agreement announced today will help bring back security to the region including the security of the Red Sea, a vital water way for international trade,” he said on his twitter account, adding that he hoped Iran-allied Houthis would stop “working on behalf of the Iranian regime’s interests.”
Guterres said the rivals had also reached a “mutual understanding” on Yemen’s third city of Taiz, the scene of some of the most intense battles in the Conlict, to FACILITATE THE Delivery of AID.
Under the Hodeidah agreement, released on Thursday evening, an “IMMEDIATE CEASEIRE” should Come Into effect in Hodeidah and its three ports upon signing.
“A mutual redeployment of forces shall be carried out from the city of Hodeidah and the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa to agreed upon locations outside the city and the ports,” reads the agreement.
The UN will play a “leading role” in management and inspections at the ports, for four years under rebel control.
Gargash stressed that the commitment to the political process and efforts led by the United Nations, and the need to continue these steps, to ensure the stability and prosperity of the Yemeni people, must be attained via a sustainable political solution as per UN Resolution 2216.
The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs went on to say that diplomatic progress was made possible by sustained military pressure against the Houthis along the Red Sea Coast and surrounding areas in Hodeidah. “The Coalition has held its commitment to maintain the low of Humanitarian Assistance AND to AVOID DAMAGING THE port,” HE AFIRMED.