During a joint press conference in Riyadh today with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir announced that Saudi Arabia and its coalition allies will hold a five-day ceasefire in Yemen to better facilitate humanitarian aid. Both leaders noted that the ceasefire is conditioned on the Houthis committing to all the agreements related to the ceasefire. The date and requirements of the ceasefire will be announced soon.
During his remarks, Minister Al-Jubeir stressed Saudi Arabia's commitment to a political process in Yemen and solving the crisis in a peaceful manner. “We welcome any effort made by the United Nations to hold talks between the Yemeni concerned parties anywhere in the world,” said Minister Al-Jubeir.
Secretary Kerry said, “Today, we particularly welcome a new Saudi initiative to try to bring about a peaceful resolution through the announcement of their intent to establish a full, five-day renewable ceasefire and humanitarian pause – no bombing, no shooting, no movement or repositioning of troops to achieve military advantage, understanding – an understanding that needs to be reached that neither party is going to exploit the humanitarian pause.”
During their meeting, Minister Al-Jubeir briefed Secretary Kerry on the illegal residence status of the millions of Yemeni expatriates currently in Saudi Arabia, which will allow them to find work and help their families in Yemen. “This is the opposite of what the other countries do -- expelling illegal residents and putting refugees in camps. But the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is keen on the interests, position and dignity of our Yemeni brothers, whether in Yemen or in Saudi Arabia,” said Minister Al-Jubeir.
Other topics discussed during the meeting included Iran’s nuclear program, fight again Daesh (ISIS) and the upcoming U.S.-GCC Summit. During his visit, Secretary Kerry also met with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
