LONDON: The need for Houthi militias in Yemen to adhere to the Stockholm Agreement was on the agenda in talks between senior diplomats of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Britain and the US in London on Friday.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the Yemen Quartet had discussed the latest developments of the crisis and “agreed on the need for the withdrawal of Houthi militias from the ports and the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement”
He also said there was discussion on “Iran's continuing hostile practices in supporting Houthi militias with missiles and drones to target civilian areas in Yemen and neighboring countries.”
The UK Foreign Office said the meeting discussed how best to support the efforts of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.
A ceasefire between Yemeni government troops and Houthi militants was agreed for the key port of Hodeidah in December during talks in Sweden. But the implementation of the truce has stalled and the Arab Coalition supporting Yemeni forces has accused the Iran-backed Houthis of dozens of violations. The coalition includes Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“I called this meeting so that we keep doing everything we can to move forward on the hard road to peace in Yemen,” UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said. “This is a horrendous conflict and it is taking too long to turn the ceasefire agreed in Stockholm into a durable path to peace.”
The meeting was also attended by the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nayan, and David Satterfield, a US acting assistant secretary of state.
