Britain's Minister of State for the Middle East Alistair Burt called on Monday United Nations' agencies operating in Yemen to gather all accessible information in order to avoid being misled.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper during his visit to Riyadh, Burt encouraged assisting those UN agencies that have a difficult mission in Yemen.
Asked about the latest UN Secretary General’s annual Children and armed conflict report (CAAC) that drove dispute for including inaccurate information, Burt said: “I believe this is an issue related to the UN. And, it is important that the UN receives all available resources as some issues might be purely disputed and therefore, certain people could offer misleading information.”
He added that the UK cooperates with the UN. “They are trying to realize a hard mission, but in my opinion, what is more important is to remove the motives of strife in order to avoid similar reports in the future,” he explained.
The British minister said that his visit to Saudi Arabia comes in the framework of coordination concerning the Yemeni file, adding that the UK would place all its efforts in coordination with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States to politically end the Yemeni crisis.
“I met Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in New York and we spoke on the phone. I am pleased to meet him again. We currently have a specific issue to discuss, which is Yemen,” Burt said, adding that the two countries would work together to end the strife and support UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and his mission.
Burt described the Saudi-British relationship as “very important,” particularly in the fields of security and commerce.
“My visit also aims to enhance those relations, and I was offered the chance to meet with the British consular officers working in the Kingdom to tackle opportunities in the tourism sectors and to share our experiences in the fields of museums and heritage,” he said.
