Aden (South24)

United Nations (UN) Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg has said that it is not possible to move forward with the peace roadmap right now.

He said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (AFP) yesterday (December 7): " I don't think that the implementation of that roadmap would be possible."

He said that any chance of implementing a roadmap has effectively been put on hold due to the war in Gaza.

Grundberg explained that the warring parties and the beleaguered people of Yemen cannot wait indefinitely for a roadmap to peace before the country slips back into war.

The UN official insisted it is "still possible" to solve the conflict, despite the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis over large parts of North Yemen.

In an interview during the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, Grundberg explained that though preparatory discussions are continuing with all sides but "it cannot stay like this forever."

He called for concrete settlements and warned against losing the momentum for peace.

Although a UN-brokered ceasefire in April 2022 helped calm the fighting, tensions have flared again in the wake of the Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Grundberg also noted that the US and UK strikes on the Houthis in January had “complicated” the mediation efforts, making it difficult to move forward with the roadmap.

"If not, the consequences are known. If you slip back into a violent confrontation internally, I think the consequences of that are pretty well known and I don't think that they would be in favour of anyone," he added. 

Grundberg stressed that the Yemeni people have been waiting for peace for a long time, and that everyone is looking forward to ending the ongoing crisis.

According to a statement by the Governor of the Central Bank in Aden, Ahmed Al-Maabiqi, "the Internationally Recognized Government lost $6 billion until last October, due to the suspension of crude oil exports”.

The Houthis have rejected any peace negotiations in Yemen, and stipulated that this would require the delivery of salaries to North Yemen employees from the revenues of the oil and gas sold by the Internationally Recognized Government.