Amman, 25 October 2017 - The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed concluded today a four-day visit to Riyadh where he met with Senior Yemeni and Saudi officials.

The Envoy met with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek Al-Mikhlafi and discussed with them his efforts to bring the parties back towards a comprehensive solution. These efforts will include steps to address the urgent humanitarian needs of Yemenis and provide confidence-building measures.

"We are currently exploring significant steps that each side can take to restore confidence and move towards a viable negotiated settlement. These steps are focused on three pillars: the resumption of the cessation of hostilities, some specific confidence building measures that can alleviate the humanitarian suffering and the return to the negotiation table in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement", said the Special Envoy.

In Saudi Arabia, the Special Envoy met as well with H.E. Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of Foreign Affairs of KSA, and H.E. David Satterfield Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He also discussed the latest political updates with H.E. Abdullatif Al-Zayyani, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as members of the diplomatic community accredited to Yemen. 

"This is at heart a political conflict so it can only be solved with political negotiations.  We remain committed to working with all parties to create the conditions for a return to meaningful bilateral negotiations," said the Special Envoy. "This large scale suffering must end. I appeal to the parties to make the necessary concessions that can help paving the way for a long-lasting peace, and to the international community to ensure unity of purpose in supporting these much-needed initiatives."