Sana’a International Airport, 5 June 2018 -  I am pleased to have visited Sana’a again. I had very productive meetings with senior leaders of Ansarallah and the General People’s Congress on my vision for the peace process which I will discuss with the Security Council later this month. I am encouraged by the reactions I received during this trip and during my meetings with the Government of Yemen and regional players over the last few weeks. 

I am determined to advance the peace process because every day that goes by innocent Yemenis die. There are many urgent issues in Yemen that must be addressed, including the humanitarian situation and the continued closure of Sana’a airport to commercial flights. I urge the parties to work towards opening the airport to commercial traffic.

I have heard from many experts of their grave anxiety about an attack on Hodaidah and the significant and avoidable humanitarian consequences that would ensue. I am also concerned about the impact of such an attack on the political process.

We are working hard to get moving on the political process and aim to restart negotiations in the near future. In this regard I urge the Yemeni parties to create a conducive environment to restart the political process and de-escalate violence. I will discuss this with the security council when I brief them in two weeks.

النص باللغة العربية