Riyadh, March 30, (dpa/GNA) – Yemeni consultations kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, hours after the Saudi-led alliance fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire, matching one offered by their opponents days ago.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is hosting the talks in Riyadh until April 7, said it invited all parties to the conflict.
The Houthi rebels declined to attend because the talks are in Saudi Arabia.
“It is a historic responsibility in front of Yemenis, who are looking forward with hope and optimism that these consultations would represent a real starting point to restore the country’s stability, overcome repercussions of war, and start a new promising stage of constructive national consensus,” GCC secretary-general Nayef al-Hajraf said in opening remarks.
He also praised the coalition’s decision to observe a ceasefire.
The coalition announced via Saudi news agency SPA, that it would observe a ceasefire with a view to “creating propitious conditions needed for successful consultations, and a favourable environment for the Holy Month of Ramadan to make peace, and achieve security and stability in Yemen.”
The UN had earlier called for a cessation of hostilities during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins at the start of April.
UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said his talks during the past two months to reach a truce during Ramadan are “making progress.”
“Yemen needs a truce,” he told the opening session in Riyadh. “I am engaging with the parties with a sense of urgency to reach this truce by the beginning of Ramadan.”
“A truce will ease the fuel crisis and facilitate freedom of movement. It will bring some immediate relief to the Yemeni people, especially during the holy month of Ramadan,” Grundberg added.
The civil war in Yemen is entering its eighth year. It has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in the severely impoverished country, UN figures show.
Saudi Arabia and its allies have been fighting alongside the government in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthis since 2015, seeking to reduce Tehran’s influence. The Houthi rebels control large parts of the north, including Sana’a.
So far, all diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have failed.
On Friday, Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom led to a fire breaking out at an oil facility near the Formula One circuit in Jeddah. The coalition responded with counterattacks.
A day later, the Houthi rebels offered a three-day unilateral ceasefire, suspending their attacks. A senior rebel official said on Saturday that a permanent ceasefire was possible if allied forces withdrew from Yemen.
“We welcome the announcements made in recent days by the Saudi-led Coalition and by the Houthis to temporarily halt military operations in Yemen, in line with our continued and collective calls for such a move,” a UN spokesman said in a statement.
GNA