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Griffiths Visits Sanaa before Briefing Security Council

FILE PHOTO: UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrives in Sanaa, Yemen, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrives in Sanaa, Yemen, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Griffiths Visits Sanaa before Briefing Security Council

FILE PHOTO: UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrives in Sanaa, Yemen, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrives in Sanaa, Yemen, July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Sanaa on Wednesday, from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to meet with Houthi leaders as part of efforts to reduce military confrontations and resume negotiations.

Griffiths and his deputy, Maeen Shoreim, arrived on board a UN plane.

The trip to Sanaa comes after a visit Griffiths made last Saturday to the city of Marib in light of the escalation of confrontations.

The UN Security Council is expected to hear briefings from Griffiths via video conference. He is likely to mention his day-long visit to Marib.

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik has reaffirmed that his country holds onto the three references as a condition for comprehensive peace with Houthi militias.

“The path to a peace (deal) between the government and the Houthi militants is clear but faces the obstacle of Houthi intransigence,” the PM said.

The three references are represented by the Gulf initiative, its executive mechanism, outcomes of the national dialogue and relevant UN resolutions, mainly resolution 2216.

During a meeting he held on Tuesday with Dutch Ambassador to Yemen Irma Marie van Duron in Riyadh, Abdulmalik noted that a key obstacle to peace remains Iran’s ongoing financial and military support for the insurgents in defiance of UN resolutions.

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Erdogan Says Türkiye Can ‘Crush’ All Terrorists in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Can ‘Crush’ All Terrorists in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Türkiye had the power and ability to "crush" all terrorists in Syria, including ISIS and Kurdish militants, while urging all countries to "take their hands off" Syria.

Since last month's fall of Bashar al-Assad, Türkiye has said repeatedly it was time for the Kurdish YPG militia to disband. Ankara considers the group, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist organization.

Ankara has said the new Syrian administration must be given an opportunity to address the YPG presence, but also threatened to mount a new cross-border operation against the militia based in northeast Syria if its demands are not met.

Speaking in parliament, Erdogan said the YPG was the biggest problem in Syria now, and added that the group would not be able to escape its inevitable end unless it lays down its arms.

"Regarding fabricated excuses like ISIS, these have no convincing side anymore," Erdogan said, referring to the US position that the YPG was a key partner against ISIS in Syria and that it plays a vital role guarding prison camps where the extremist militants are kept.

"If there is really a fear of the ISIS threat in Syria and the region, the biggest power that has the will and power to resolve this issue is Türkiye," he said.

"Everyone should take their hands off Syria and we, along with our Syrian siblings, will crush the heads of ISIS, the YPG and other terrorist organizations in a short time."

Türkiye has repeatedly asked its NATO ally the United States to halt support for the SDF, and has said the new administration in Syria had offered to take over the management of the prisons. 

Later on Wednesday , Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara is ready to provide support to the new Syrian administration for the management of ISIS camps in the country.

"As we have always said, we are also ready to provide the necessary assistance to the new administration in the management of ISIS camps and prisons," Fidan said.

Speaking in Ankara following his meeting with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Fidan also said diplomatic efforts will continue to ensure the removal of sanctions against Syria.