Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed has briefed EU ambassadors about Houthi intransigence over maintenance work on the derelict Safer oil tanker.
Another oil leak or explosion at Safer threatens the Red Sea with an environmental catastrophe.
According to Saba News Agency, the prime minister discussed via videoconference with EU ambassadors the political, military, economic and health situation in Yemen. He also talked about the upcoming UN Security Council session on the tanker.
Houthis have rejected a UN team to intervene to empty and fix the oil tanker which threatens a major environmental catastrophe.
EU Ambassador to Yemen Hans Grundberg attended the meeting alongside the ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Netherlands, Sweden and Portugal.
Official sources revealed that Abdulmalik briefed the ambassadors on recent developments, including the Yemeni government’s approval of initiatives and a proposal for a ceasefire by the UN chief.
Houthi militias, on the other hand, are carrying on their military escalation against civilians and are targeting Saudi Arabia, he said.
The Iran-backed group has also repeatedly attempted to target international navigation and worked hard to disrupt peacemaking efforts.
Abdulmalik criticized the UN for its silence towards how Houthis are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
“The state of denial and the method of dealing with the infected patients led to the spread of the disease which threatens a health disaster,” he said.
More so, Houthis have violated the mechanisms agreed upon with the UN regarding the revenues of the Hodeidah port.
Instead of paying the salaries of civil servants and boosting the health sector, the militias plundered the revenues from the Central Bank of Yemen branch in Hodeidah and pumped the funds into its war effort.