A Yemeni delegation including members of parliament and advisors to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi’s arrived in Riyadh from Cairo, Al Arabiya TV reported on Thursday.
The delegation will hold meetings to discuss the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement in accordance with the recent Saudi proposal, according to Yemen’s Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Iryani.
The Saudi proposal for a ceasefire was approved by both the government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the coastal province of Abyan earlier this week. The proposal called for a de-escalation of tensions between the two parties in preparation to implementing the provisions of the Riyadh Agreement.
Earlier this week the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, condemned the ongoing Houthi military escalation throughout Yemen, especially the recent increase in hostilities, and called on the Yemeni government and the STC to implement the Riyadh agreement urgently.
His office said in a statement on Twitter that the escalation ran counter to the spirit of the ongoing negotiations being facilitated by the United Nations with the aim of reaching an agreement between the parties on a comprehensive ceasefire.
“I urge the parties again to seriously reduce the escalation and give peace a chance.,” Griffiths said. “There is no justification for the military escalation, and it conflicts with the hopes of Yemeni men and women for peace and makes the daily struggle for survival in Yemen more difficult.”
