[31/07/2018 03:14]

RIYADH-SABA
Foreign Minister Khaled Alyemanyspoke highly of the Dutch humanitarian and development support to Yemen, which often coveredthe sectors of health, education, water and infrastructure.

In a meeting with the Dutch Ambassador to Yemen Irma Marie Van Dueren's in Riyadh on Tuesday Alyemany reiterated the Yemeni government's support for the UN Special envoy's(Martin Griffiths) initiative for a peaceful Houthi withdrawal from the Red Sea ports in Hodeidah and a peaceful resolution of the irregular situation of the vital city.

He said that the initiative,if implemented, would boil down as part of the demands that the UN Security Council resolution no. 2216 provides for.

To give Griffiths a chance to convince the Houthis about it the government and the Arab Coalition unconditionally suspended the military operations for 45 days, he said.

"But the Houthi militia continued to dodge their commitments and exploited the given respite to amass forces in the city, dig trenches and entrench their fighters in the residential neighborhoods, and even continued to threaten the international shipping lanes south of the Red Sea and in Bab al-Mandeb strait in implementation of the Iranian agenda," he regretted.

He pointed to the militia's several violations against humanitarianaid efforts including the looting of aid and threatening of the foreign and local workers of international aid organizations.

Dueren, on her part, saidYemen is regarded by the Dutch government and people to be ofa special status. She reminded of the 40th anniversary of the inception of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

She said that the Netherlands is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen and hopes that the UN envoy will be able to push the peace process forward and broker a restart of political talks that lead to permanent peace in the country.

---