UN pushes back Yemen peace talks
With UN talks on Yemen delayed amid escalating fighting, veteran diplomats say Pompeo should work with the UK to revive the Friends of Yemen and give UN efforts to end the conflict more sustained, high-level attention.
WASHINGTON — The United Nations said today that it would push back plans for Yemen peace talks this month amid an escalation by Saudi- and Emirati-backed fighters toward the vital Red Sea port of Hodeidah, in what appeared to be a setback for recent US and UN calls on the Yemen parties to de-escalate fighting. But US officials said they were not overly concerned about the possible delay.
UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths will now seek to get the warring parties to political talks in a third country by the end of the year, a UN spokesman said.
“There’s always different challenges to bringing the parties together,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at the UN today. “What we’re trying to do is clear up any issues so that we can get a successful round of talks as soon as possible.”
US officials said they have confidence in UN envoy Griffiths’ efforts, and were not concerned if he thought he needed a slight delay to better prepare for productive consultations.
