On 23 October, the Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and the chair of the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaité (Lithuania), briefed the Council. Ould Cheikh Ahmed reported on the recent decisions by the sides to engage in direct talks. Murmokaité reviewed the work of the 2140 Sanctions Committee since her last briefing in December 2014. Following the meeting, Council members issued a press statement welcoming the Special Envoy’s announcement of the upcoming talks and reaffirming their call for the parties to attend the talks without preconditions.