The US and Saudi Arabia are pushing for further implementation of the UN-brokered ceasefire in Yemen. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talked about de-escalation and the implementation of the agreements reached in Sweden on the Yemen conflict, the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia said today. A comprehensive political solution is the only way to end the conflict, it said in a message from the embassy on Twitter.
In particular, the implementation of the ceasefire in the embattled port city of Hudaida and the troop movements were discussed in the conversation. Saudi Arabia is fighting an alliance of Sunni states with the Houthi rebels who control large parts of northern Yemen. In Sweden, the parties to the conflict, brokered by the UN, mainly agreed on a ceasefire for the port city of Hudaida on the Red Sea.
Khashoggi was also a topic of conversation
The ports in the region are of enormous importance for supplying the impoverished civil war lands with relief goods. UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths called for „substantial progress“ last week before further talks.
According to media reports, Pompeo’s meeting with the Saudi successor also involved the murder of critical Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Consulate of the Kingdom of Turkey.
