UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is set to make a briefing before the UN Security Council at a session scheduled for Thursday after holding several consultations in the Middle East and meetings with various US officials in Washington.
This will be the first session in 2020 to discuss Yemeni affairs, and after the massive escalation in the Middle East following the US assassination of al-Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
Informed sources in Washington told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Special Envoy arrived in Washington coming from Riyadh. On his first day, Griffiths met with a number of officials at the US State Department, including Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East affairs, David Hill.
The Envoy also met with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at the Pentagon. After the meeting, Esper tweeted saying he was pleased to host Griffiths, asserting that the ministry supports “UN efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in support of regional stability.”
In New York, Griffiths will present his briefing to the Security Council on his recent discussions with the Yemeni parties in the Middle East.
The UN Envoy met the Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in Riyadh after he held several meetings in Muscat, including talks with Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam.
Griffiths hopes the Stockholm Agreement between the Yemeni parties will succeed, as he indicated in previous statements that the agreement is not an obstacle to any peace process.
Griffiths hinted on several occasions that he is conducting several political consultations with various Yemeni forces and figures as well as countries interested in the crisis, which has been a nightmare for the Yemenis since the Houthi coup in September 2014.
Earlier, Hadi confirmed that the legitimacy continues to support the international efforts led by Griffiths to end the Houthi coup and bring peace according to the three references.
The Yemeni president stressed the importance of working with the UN to bring security and stability in Yemen and maintain its territorial integrity, asserting the importance of the Saudi-led coalition in supporting the legitimacy, according to Saba news agency.
