British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt renewed Saturday his call for Houthi militias to immediately withdraw from Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, labeling the progress made on the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement as fragile.
Iran-backed Houthi leaders on the other hand slammed Hunt’s statements as “scandalous”.
Hunt had kicked off a regional tour dedicated to have shuttle diplomacy salvage what was cited as the “last chance” to save the truce deal signed between warring Yemeni parties last year.
The top British diplomat stressed that the lack of trust between the internationally-recognized government and Houthi coupists was harming the success of UN peace efforts.
On Friday, Hunt visited Muscat where he signed a joint declaration on UK-Omani relations and met Houthi militia spokesman Mohamed Abdul Salem. He is also due to visit the UAE.
Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi had received Hunt in the presence of Yemeni Foreign Minister Khalid al-Yamani at his residence in Riyadh, and discussed a number of issues and topics of common interest, official sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Progress fragile but within sight for UN-backed peace talks on Yemen, as I discussed with Yemeni President Hadi in Riyadh today. There is a lack of trust and it is taking too long to implement Stockholm but no one has a better plan so we need to get going and end the crisis,” Hunt tweeted.
While praising the UK’s decision to classify the Lebanon-based Hezbollah as a terrorist group, Hadi praised British efforts to “push for the peace and stability that the Yemeni people seek and pursue in the context of following up with the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement.”
During the meeting with Hunt, Hadi pointed out that Houthi militias are deliberately impeding redeployment in Hodeidah and dodging the implementation of a prisoner swap, both stipulated in the Stockholm agreement.
Hadi reiterated his government’s long-standing preparedness to cooperate with international peace efforts.
On the UK blacklisting the Iran-funded Hezbolllah militia, he said the decision joins in the condemnation Hezbollah faces for backing Houthi militants in Yemen.
Hunt, for his part, stressed the UK’s commitment to helping Yemen during times of hardship. British Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged £200 million to help victims of the war in Yemen as she called for an end to the “crisis and suffering” caused by the conflict.
More so, Hunt met with Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh Saturday. He described the meeting as “excellent.”
Hunt said that he and Jubeir agreed that progress on the Sweden agreement was “overdue,” and that it is “vital for Hodeidah to be cleared of militias urgently” so that a humanitarian corridor can be opened.
