CAIRO (TASS): The appointment of the Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as the UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Yemen makes no sense, as well as any peaceful dialogue, until the aggression ends and the blockade is lifted. This statement, as reported by the Al Masirah TV channel , was made on Sunday by the official representative of the Shiite rebellious movement “Ansar Allah” (Houthis), the head of his delegation at the talks, Muhammad Abdel Salam.
“The appointment of a new UN envoy for Yemen does not mean anything if there is no clear statement about the end of aggression and the lifting of the blockade from Yemen,” he said. “There is no point in any dialogue before the opening of airports and seaports, which is a priority and urgent humanitarian necessity”.
“The countries of aggression must understand how much destruction and suffering it and their blockade bring to the Yemenis, and realize that their stubbornness will cost them more and more,” Abdel Salam said.
On Friday, UN Secretary General António Guterres appointed Grundberg as his special envoy for Yemen to replace British diplomat Martin Griffiths, who has held this position since 2018.
The latter, despite repeated attempts, has not been able to achieve any progress in resolving the protracted conflict.
In Yemen, since August 2014, the confrontation between government forces and the armed formations of the Houthis has continued. It entered its most active phase with the invasion of the country in March 2015 by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
The conflict, which has lasted for more than five years, has created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. According to the UN, over 24 million Yemenis – roughly 80% of the country’s population – are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the number of internally displaced persons exceeds 3 million.
