The US envoy to Yemen, Timothy Linderking, said that the time has come for all groups to make progress on the Riyadh agreement, and to confront the common threats of Houthi provocations, the economic crisis and insecurity, at a time when the Yemeni Minister of Interior demanded the UAE and the Arab coalition to open Aden airport and restore the port.
These statements came in a tweet to the US State Department for Near Eastern Affairs - on Twitter - during Lenderking's meeting in Riyadh with the Chargé d'Affairs of the US Embassy in Yemen Kathy Westley and the leadership of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council.
The meeting came in the presence of the acting US ambassador to Yemen, Kathy Westley, according to the ministry, without giving further details.
The US envoy and the head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council are in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
For months, the US envoy has continued his diplomatic moves to resolve differences between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, and between the government and the Southern Transitional Council.
The Riyadh Agreement was signed in November 2019, but a number of its provisions were not implemented, especially the security and military aspect, amid mutual accusations from both sides of the conflict about obstructing its implementation.
situation and problems
This comes at a time when Yemen's Interior Minister Ibrahim Ali Haidan told the Russian "Sputnik" agency that obstructing the export of oil and gas affects the state's income, and that this situation is causing a problem for us with the coalition.
The Yemeni minister added that the airport and port of Aden are inoperative under the control of the Southern Transitional Council, which is under the orders of the UAE, as he put it.
The minister indicated that the UAE and the coalition are required to open Aden airport and return the port to work.
Yemen has been witnessing for nearly 7 years a continuous war between pro-government forces backed by an Arab military coalition led by the neighboring Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis, who have controlled governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.