UN and regional movements on the conflict in Yemen

The office of Hans Grundberg, the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy to Yemen, announced today that Grundberg had concluded a round of meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which included officials from the kingdom, Yemeni officials, and ambassadors of the five permanent member states, to discuss advancing the peace process in Yemen.

A press release from the office said: “[Grundberg] had met with Chairman of the Yemeni Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad Al-Alimi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Albudaiwi, and the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber". He also met with the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The statement reported that: "discussions focused on next steps to facilitate an agreement on measures to improve living conditions in Yemen, a nationwide ceasefire, and an inclusive intra-Yemeni political process under UN auspices.”

Grundberg's meetings coincided with other meetings in Riyadh regarding the Yemeni crisis. Yesterday, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met with the PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi and PLC members, Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, Abdulrahman Al-Muharrammi, Tariq Saleh, Abdullah Al-Alimi, and Othman Majali.

The Saba News Agency reported that the meeting "discussed the latest developments in the Yemeni issue, joint efforts to support the peace process in the country, and a number of topics on the regional and international arenas of common interest."

On October 15th, the President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and PLC member Aidrous Al-Zubaidi met with the US ambassador to Yemen, Steven Fagin, in Riyadh.

Al-Zubaidi posted on X, formerly Twitter: “A fruitful meeting with the US ambassador to our country, in which we discussed political developments related to efforts to bring peace and political settlement, and the importance of the PLC's cohesion.”

Ambassador Fagin held other meetings with Rashad Al-Alimi and PLC members Tariq Saleh and Othman Majali. The U.S. Envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, also held other meetings with Rashad Al-Alimi and Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik.

These meetings come amid ongoing efforts to reach a new agreement in Yemen, one year after the ending of the UN truce in Yemen and the country’s entrance into what is known as the ‘de-escalation phase'.

Meanwhile, on October 16th, the Houthis announced an initiative to stop fighting on all fronts in Taiz Governorate of North Yemen. This unfolded during a visit by the head of the Houthi Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat.

Nabil Shamsan, the governor of Taiz in the internationally recognized legitimate government, accused the Houthis of launching this initiative "to provide cover to target Taiz." He said in a statement that "the Houthi’s mysterious show initiative is a new maneuver [..] before the start of failed barbaric attacks."