Official Reiterates Iran's Support for UN-Brokered Yemen Peace Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian official reaffirmed Tehran's support for UN efforts to restore peace to war-torn Yemen, but at the same time noted that the measures have yet to meet the expectations.
In a Monday telephone conversation with UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and the UN envoy conferred on the latest developments of Yemen, particularly the recent UN-brokered negotiations among Yemeni groups in Geneva, Switzerland.
Last Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the high-stakes Geneva negotiations with an appeal for a two-week humanitarian truce during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The peace talks ended in Geneva with no agreement, but the United Nations said it was still optimistic a ceasefire could be reached "pretty soon".
Amir Abdollahian stressed that while the UN at this phase of the negotiations did not succeed in establishing a ceasefire, "serious and urgent measures had been expected to be taken to establish green zones and earmark some sea ports and airports to accelerate dispatching humanitarian aid" to the Yemeni people.
He further noted that Iran supports UN attempts for dispatching humanitarian aid and organizing real negotiations among Yemeni groups and parties, and believes that the crisis in Yemen can be resolved solely through political means and dialogue.
Iran is ready to immediately dispatch further humanitarian aid through the United Nations to all Yemeni cities, Amir Abdollahian went on to say.
Sheikh Ahmed, for his part, referred to a deep gap among Yemeni groups who took part in the talks in Geneva, but stressed the need for continuation of talks among the parties.
The UN envoy also thanked Iran for sending humanitarian aid for the people of Yemen.
The remarks came as an Iranian cargo ship dispatched 2,500 tons of food and medical supplies for Yemenis via Djibouti, where the United Nations oversees humanitarian deliveries.
Since March 26, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been conducting deadly air strikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to Yemen's Freedom House Foundation, the Saudi airstrikes have claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Yemeni people so far while more than 7,000 others have been wounded, most of them civilians.