Agency: A new draft agreement to solve the Yemen crisis and signs of a breakthrough in Ramadan

English - Wednesday 14 April 2021 الساعة 01:46 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:

 The Chinese News Agency "Xinhua" quoted a Yemeni source, whom it did not name, that the parties to the conflict were discussing a new draft of an agreement to resolve the crisis in Yemen, after the United Nations special envoy announced the launch of a humanitarian plan to end the conflict and called on "the parties" to sit at the negotiating table "Without preconditions. 

The agency said that a draft agreement for a solution in Yemen was reached during the past weeks, after a series of meetings led by the UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths and the US envoy, Timothy Lenderking, in Muscat and Riyadh.

It stated that "a copy of the draft was handed over to the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and another to the Houthi group, and that the two parties studied the draft and made observations."

It said that the draft is based on the "joint declaration" presented by the UN envoy and the "Saudi initiative", which Riyadh proposed last March.

The draft currently under discussion includes broad lines, most notably the reopening of Sanaa International Airport, lifting restrictions on the port of Hodeidah, stopping Houthi attacks with ballistic missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia, stopping the operations of the Saudi-led Arab coalition on the Houthis, and reaching a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen. 

Earlier Monday, the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said in a statement, "The United Nations has put in place a plan aimed at securing a comprehensive ceasefire throughout the country to stop the fighting in all its forms."

He added that the plan includes "opening the main roads connecting the north and south, including Taiz, a city that has been under siege for a long time, to allow the free movement of civilians, commercial goods and humanitarian aid."