Today, Tuesday, the Yemeni government announced its approval of a revised proposal submitted by the United Nations envoy regarding opening roads in Taiz and other governorates, during the ongoing negotiations in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The government negotiating team said in a statement that "the UN envoy, Hans Grundberg, submitted a proposal to open 5 roads in Taiz and some provinces, including a main road, provided that the opening of the rest of the roads will be synchronized in the coming months."

The team considered that this revised proposal meets the minimum demands of the people of Taiz Governorate, according to the statement, noting that the Houthis were insisting - more than two weeks after the start of the Amman negotiations - on offering dirt roads that do not achieve the goal of lifting the siege and alleviating suffering.

The government team called on the international community, the ambassadors of the European Union and the US envoy, Timothy Lenderking, to "exercise more pressure in order to turn the UN envoy's proposal into a reality on the ground."

This round of direct talks between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group began in the Jordanian capital on Sunday evening, to discuss the opening of roads in several governorates, most notably Taiz, which has been besieged for seven years.


Last Saturday evening, the Houthis announced that they had begun erecting earthen barriers in the northern suburbs of Taiz, in preparation for the opening of a 12-kilometer road.

However, the head of the government negotiating team, Abdul Karim Shaiban, said in a statement, "We were surprised by the Houthi media's talk about going in a unilateral measure to open an unknown dirt road, in an open attempt to thwart the efforts of the United Nations and circumvent the ongoing consultations."

And the UN envoy, Hans Grundberg, announced on Monday that he had submitted a revised proposal to the delegations of the Houthi group and the Yemeni government to gradually reopen roads, including an implementation mechanism and guarantees for the safety of civilian travelers.

On the other hand, the US special envoy to Yemen, Timothy Linderking, said today, Tuesday, that Yemenis feel tangible results of the current armistice, calling for more opportunities for dialogue between the Yemeni parties.

Last Thursday, the Houthis and the Yemeni government agreed to extend a humanitarian truce in Yemen for another two months, after the end of the truce that began on April 2.

Lenderking called on the Houthi group to release the American employees detained in Sanaa, and at the same time stressed that Yemen remains a priority for the United States, which is committed to ending the conflict there.

With regard to the oil tanker "Safer" that has been stuck off the port of Ras Issa for more than 6 years, the US envoy expressed his fear that continued neglect of this file would lead to pollution of the Red Sea waters.