Lenderking: We discuss military support for Yemen and the Houthis' behavior deprives civilians
English - Thursday 29 September 2022 الساعة 07:12 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The US Special Envoy to Yemen, Tim Linder King, has revealed an ongoing discussion about US military support for the Yemeni government.
This came in statements made by the US envoy to The Independent, which was published on Wednesday.
In response to a question about US military support for the Yemeni government, Lenderking said, "These matters are already under discussion. The Yemeni government is an important partner and party in the fight against terrorist groups, so we want to be fully supportive of it."
On the differences within the Yemeni legitimacy camp, he said, "I have made three trips to the region since President Biden visited Saudi Arabia, and their focus was on the unity of the Presidential Leadership Council, ensuring the support of regional parties for the unity and territorial integrity of Yemen, and avoiding problems that undermine the armistice."
He added: "What we would like to see now urgently is for the Presidential Leadership Council to unite its ranks and support the Yemeni people tangibly and secure support from the region." Therefore, we consider President Al-Alimi's visit to the United Nations General Assembly an effective way to receive support from us and the region."
Regarding the US position on the "One Yemen" policy, Linderking said, "We believe that Yemenis should make their own decisions regarding the future of their country, including this issue."
And he added: "Other than that, it is unfortunate when there are some divisive movements that disrupt the course of the armistice, and I think that the events that occurred in Shabwa and the south during the past six weeks confuse the armistice. We have concerns and we monitor the situation on a daily basis."
He continued, "What I mean is that the decision of unity or not can not be taken on behalf of Yemen, and it is up to the Yemenis."
The US envoy stressed the need to gather Yemenis under one roof to negotiate the extension of the armistice, and said that this step would give "a strong basis that reflects the will of all to establish peace."
He stated that the United States "does not look at the Houthi violations of the armistice with kindness, as this is not agreed upon by the parties, and it is contrary to the spirit that the international community is trying to instill."
He added, "The behavior of the Houthis over the past few weeks has frustrated us, disrupted the process of entering fuel ships into the port of Hodeidah and created an unnecessary crisis that deprived Yemenis of the benefits of the truce."
Lenderking noted that the Houthis engaged in skirmishes that led to the deaths of civilians instead of opening roads in Taiz, the third largest city in Yemen, and one of the cities experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to the difficulty of the flow of basic goods and aid to it.
The US Special Envoy for Yemen talked about Iran's role, saying: "What we have seen in Yemen over the years is a very negative Iranian role that is fueling the conflict by smuggling weapons in violation of the arms embargo."
While noting Tehran's recent welcome to the armistice announcements, he said his country "would like to see whether the Iranians would translate their words into actions by actually supporting the political process, rather than just saying that the political process would be a wonderful thing."
