The spokesman for the European External Action Service welcomed the announcement made the day before by Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the ‘Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen’, of a unilateral two-week ceasefire in Yemen to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“It is now imperative that the domestic parties to the conflict, namely the Government of Yemen and the movement Ansar Allah, immediately cease all hostilities and begin talks in good faith under UN auspices”, he said in a statement.
According to the spokesman, a crisis meeting between the parties, as proposed by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, represents “a unique opportunity to discuss ways to end the conflict”. He therefore encouraged the parties to engage genuinely and constructively in the process and to refrain from any unilateral action that might undermine its objective.
The spokesman also recalled that in this time of pandemic, commercial goods, especially medicines, and humanitarian aid must continue to circulate unhindered and reach those in need. The impact of this pandemic on a country ravaged by 6 years of war could be catastrophic, he warned. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)