Yemen Calls for Ending Houthi Obstacles to Peace Initiatives

The Yemeni Foreign Minister during his meeting with State Secretary to Sweden Prime Minister Karin Wallensteen in Stockholm Thursday (Saba)
The Yemeni Foreign Minister during his meeting with State Secretary to Sweden Prime Minister Karin Wallensteen in Stockholm Thursday (Saba)
TT

Yemen Calls for Ending Houthi Obstacles to Peace Initiatives

The Yemeni Foreign Minister during his meeting with State Secretary to Sweden Prime Minister Karin Wallensteen in Stockholm Thursday (Saba)
The Yemeni Foreign Minister during his meeting with State Secretary to Sweden Prime Minister Karin Wallensteen in Stockholm Thursday (Saba)

The Yemeni government has urged the international community to pressure the Iran-backed Houthi militias to stop their military escalation.

It called on the international community to push the Houthis to accept the peace initiatives.

Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Mubarak made these statements during a meeting with State Secretary to Sweden’s Prime Minister Karin Wallensteen in Stockholm Thursday.

The visit comes as part of his European tour that took him to Norway and the Netherlands.

The Yemeni FM and the Swedish minister discussed Yemen’s peace process, in addition to the role that international key players are expected to play in pushing it forward.

Bin Mubarak also met with Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation Per Olof Olsson Fridh.

They discussed means of cooperation on development, and further addressed the political and humanitarian situation in Yemen.

During his visit to the Netherlands, Bin Mubarak reviewed the Iranian subversive role in Yemen.

He indicated that the Houthi partnership with the Iranian agenda aimed at destabilizing the security and stability of Yemen and the Arab region as well as complicating the conflict.

He stressed the government’s keenness to provide full support to UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg.

He expressed the government's willingness to work with Grundberg to reach a comprehensive ceasefire that would help address all other humanitarian, political, and economic issues.

The Foreign Minister reviewed the humanitarian situation in Yemen and underlined the importance of addressing the gap in financing the humanitarian response plan.

He shed light on the continuation of the Houthi aggression on Marib governorate, its humanitarian repercussions, the militia’s targeting of residential areas and IDP camps, and the recruitment of children as well as illegal migrants.

Bin Mubarak addressed maritime and environmental security in the Red Sea.

He stressed putting an end to the threats posed by the Houthis to the security of the Red Sea through the indiscriminate deployment of sea mines and targeting ships with explosive boats.

He also slammed the Houthis for procrastinating in responding to international calls to defuse a major environmental and humanitarian disaster by not allowing the inspection of the Safer oil tanker.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that his tour seeks to mobilize European support for the legitimacy in Yemen.

This visit is a continuation of trips to the GCC countries, Russia and other countries, he added.



Gaza Mediators Intensify Ceasefire Efforts, Israeli Strikes Kill 16

Palestinians inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Palestinians inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
TT

Gaza Mediators Intensify Ceasefire Efforts, Israeli Strikes Kill 16

Palestinians inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Palestinians inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

The United States, joined by Arab mediators, sought on Wednesday to conclude an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the 14-month-old war in the Gaza Strip where medics said Israeli strikes killed at least 16 Palestinians overnight.
On Tuesday, sources close to the talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, said an agreement could be signed in coming days on a ceasefire and release of hostages held in Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people in a house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, where army forces have operated since October, while six were killed in separate airstrikes in Gaza City, Nuseirat camp in central areas, and Rafah near the border with Egypt.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military spokesman.
The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month.
On Wednesday, a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said mediators had narrowed gaps on most of the agreement's clauses but he said Israel had introduced conditions which Hamas rejected. He would not elaborate.
Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday looking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal Biden outlined in May.
There have been repeated rounds of talks over the past year, all of which have failed, with Israel insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas refusing to release hostages until the troops pulled out.