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)
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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.



German Minister Says Israeli Occupation of Golan Heights Breaches International Law

 An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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German Minister Says Israeli Occupation of Golan Heights Breaches International Law

 An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)

The occupation of the Golan Heights is a violation of international law, Germany's foreign minister said during a speech in the parliament on Wednesday, after the Israeli government decided at the weekend to double its population on the occupied strategic plateau.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said she would make clear to Türkiye on a visit on Friday that the rights of Kurds in northern Syria must be protected.

Israel will remain on the strategic Mount Hermon site on the Syrian border until another arrangement is found, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

Israeli troops occupied Mount Hermon when they moved into a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government this month.

Officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel's borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn and Defense Minister Israel Katz last week ordered troops to prepare to remain on Mount Hermon over the winter.

Israel's move into the buffer zone created following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war has been criticized as a violation of international agreements by a number of countries and the United Nations, which have called for the troops to be withdrawn.