May seeks end to Yemen blockade as crisis looms

BRITAIN and Saudi Arabia agree that steps need to be taken as a matter of urgency in Yemen, Downing Street said, as the country teeters on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

As part of a whistlestop tour of the Middle East, Theresa May also met and held talks with her Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, in Baghdad on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister, who said she would push for an end of a blockade in Yemen, then jetted off to Riyadh to have discussions with King Salman and the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Downing Street said the issue of Yemen was raised, and that the Prime Minister “made clear” the flow of commercial supplies must be resumed if a humanitarian catastrophe is to be averted.

“They agreed that steps needed to be taken as a matter of urgency to address this and that they would take forward more detailed discussions on how this could be achieved,” Number 10 added.

Their talks also noted the progress which has been made in the fight to eliminate so-called Islamic State from the region, as well as the issue of Iran.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister noted that we shared Saudi Arabia’s concerns about Iran’s destabilising regional behaviour, and where they agreed that more work needed to be done to bring the international community together to counter it.”

Noting Britain and Saudi Arabia’s “strong” relationship, discussions also focused on the kingdom’s social reform programme, Vision 2030, with all agreeing these changes are key to the country’s stability.