Griffiths Voices Optimism for a Breakthrough in Yemen Negotiations
Arab World
Aden - Ali Rabea
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths on Monday left the war-torn country’s capital, Sanaa, hoping for positive engagement from warring parties in his peacemaking initiative. He left the Houthi-run city after meeting with the Iran-aligned coup leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and discussing the prioritization of the UN humanitarian plan for battle-weary Yemen, official sources reported. Griffiths and al-Houthi also reviewed the need for a ceasefire and rebooting political negotiations ahead of implementing the plan for relief aid. It is worth noting that talks with al-Houthi mark a breakthrough in a 14-months stalemate between Houthi militias and the UN. Griffiths arrived in Sanaa on Sunday after completing a US-backed regional tour that included Riyadh and Muscat and mobilized support for his peace plan. “Throughout the process, we have suggested several ways to bridge the gap between the parties,” Griffiths told reporters in Sanaa. “There’s an extraordinary amount of diplomatic consensus... there is real diplomatic energy now, which hasn’t always been the case,” he added. “There is a need for a ceasefire, reopening roads for the movement of the Yemeni people and returning normal life to Yemen,” Griffiths said, adding that he will re-discuss this issue with the Yemeni government and Saudi officials. He also emphasized the right of Yemenis to access fuel, medical supplies, and foodstuffs. “Removing all obstacles that prevent Yemenis from obtaining food and basic commodities, including fuel, for civilians is a matter of principle, regardless of political and military considerations,” said Griffiths. With Yemen’s long war having claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, Griffiths stressed the urgency of the need for a nationwide ceasefire to mitigate the immediate impact of violence on Yemenis. According to third-party observers, Houthi militias aspire to lock their grip on Yemen’s oil-rich and northeastern governorate of Marib, where around 2 million internally displaced Yemenis sought asylum. Controlling Marib would give Houthis a strategic upper hand over Yemen’s internationally recognized government that is based in the interim capital, Aden. Griffiths told reporters that the Houthi offensive on government-controlled Marib impedes peace efforts and endangers millions of lives.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002951/griffiths-voices-optimism-breakthrough-yemen-negotiations
No comments:
Post a Comment