Statement by Ambassador Vassily A.Nebenzia made on behalf of the Security Council and the answer to a question after closed consultations on Yemen
We just finished our consultations on the whole of the situation in Yemen. I was instructed by my colleagues in the Security Council to read the following press elements:
- The members of the Security Council continue to follow developments in Yemen closely. They were briefed by DPA and OCHA. They applauded efforts of the UN staff on the ground.
- They were united in their deep concerns about the risks to the humanitarian situation and reiterated their call for the Ports of Hodeidah and Saleef to be kept open.
- They reiterated their call for the full implementation of security council resolutions, including Resolution 2216, and urged all sides to uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law.
- They reiterated their support for a political solution as the only way to end the conflict in Yemen. They noted that the UN special Envoy’s efforts were ongoing and reaffirmed their full support to these efforts. They looked forward to Special Envoy’s briefing on 18 June in that regard and in the meantime asked him to keep them updated on current developments in real time.
Q: Did DPA give any sense of what the UAE or Saudi Arabia has said in response in terms of his various calls to leave the humanitarian access, whether there has been a response to these?
A: The work by the Special Envoy continues, and he works obviously behind the scenes. It’s not very public, his efforts are not relenting, so I wouldn’t be commenting on what the reply was, what the reaction was. We only wished that his attempts to bring the parties to the table and to solve the issues peacefully would succeed.
