Alalam - Asia
By Press TV
“Whatever we can do to make resurrection of the need for people to be able to negotiate, to be able to come to a solution for the Yemeni people, is something that we will always be available to contribute to,” Guterres said at a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Sunday.
The UN chief also urged the conflicting sides in Yemen to ensure the unhindered delivery of relief aid to civilians.
“Humanitarian aid is for those that really need it, and so we are very keen in always appealing to all parties to any conflict not to use humanitarian aid for purposes that are not humanitarian, and we will always condemn any form of intervention that will lead for that deviation to take place,” he said.
UN peace envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed also attended the press briefing. He has been pushing for a peace plan meant to pave the way for a political transition in the country.
Guterres is on his first Middle East tour since he was sworn in on January 1. He is due to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar and Egypt.
Saudi Arabia, backed by its allies including several Persian Gulf Arab states, has launched a military campaign since March 2015 in support of Yemen’s former government, a close Riyadh ally, and against the Houthi Ansarullah movement.
The Houthi fighters, along with the Yemeni army and popular forces, have been defending the nation against the war, which has so far left over 11,400 people dead, according to the latest tallies
Several rounds of peace talks between Ansarullah and the party loyal to ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi have failed to yield results amid deep divisions.
The Houthi movement has been running Yemen’s affairs since late 2014, when Hadi resigned and fled to Riyadh. The former president is now based in Aden, but spends most of his time in the Saudi capital.
In January, the UN envoy told the UN Security Council that Hadi “continues to criticize” the peace proposals without agreeing to discuss them, adding that such an approach “will hinder and impede the path towards peace.”