Saudi Arabia’s FM says efforts to extend Yemen truce ‘still in place’

Efforts to extend the truce in Yemen are “still in place,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told Al Arabiya in an interview aired on Wednesday.

“The Kingdom, the [Arab] Coalition and the Yemeni government are all keen on extending the truce,” Prince Faisal said, adding, however, that the Iran-backed Houthi militia rejects all initiatives.

“The Houthis keep proposing new conditions. This is not a way to negotiate. They must put the interest of Yemen and its people above their narrow interests,” he said.

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The United Nations is pressing for an extended and expanded truce that would build on the two-month one that expired on October 2 after being rolled over twice, and which has brought the longest stretch of relative calm in the seven-year conflict.

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking headed back to region on Tuesday to support the UN-led negotiations with Yemeni parties, according to the State Department.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Prince Faisal reaffirmed the Kingdom’s support of efforts that aim to end the war.

Asked about demands that countries must either side with Russia or the US and the West, Prince Faisal said the priority now was to end the war, noting that the conflict does not only affect the Ukrainian people.

“The [conflict’s] economic consequences impact millions across the world. [Hence], it is important for all of us in the international community to work and find a way to end [the crisis],” he said.

Prince Faisal added that the Kingdom believes the war will only end through Russia’s and Ukraine’s serious engagement in negotiations.

With Reuters

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