The United Nations will invite warring sides in Yemen for talks on September 6 in Geneva to discuss a framework for peace negotiations, the envoy announced on Thursday.
Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that “a political solution”to end the war in Yemen was “available.”
The two sides will discuss framework for peace talks and confidence-building measures, said Griffiths.
The UN envoy said there was a chance for peace in Yemen and the “complexities of Hodeidah will not hinder us from reaching a solution to the crisis of Yemen as a whole.”
During the UN Security Council briefing, Griffiths called on the parties to create a conducive environment to allow the Geneva consultations to take place.
Political settlement talks
Diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the upcoming talks were aimed at reaching a political settlement in Yemen.
The first round of Yemen talks were held in the Swiss city back in 2015.
Two other rounds were later held in Switzerland’s Biel city before moving to Kuwait.
The sources predicted that the latest round of discussions will last between three and four days, saying that Griffiths will likely adopt a different approach than his predecessor Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Griffiths was to announce before the UN Security Council later on Thursday the date of the Geneva talks and the outline of his vision of the Yemen peace settlement.
This will mark the second time that he personally heads to the Council to discuss Yemen. On the two previous occasions, he had addressed the Council through video call.
In a related development, the Saudi-led Arab coalition declared on Wednesday that it had carried out an assessment of the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ hostile actions against international navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that the “alliance, in coordination with the international community, has taken all necessary measures to ensure freedom of navigation and international trade through the Strait and southern Red Sea.”
The measures are in line with international law and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, starting with resolution 2216, he stressed.
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