The UN Security Council has reiterated that there is no military solution for ending the Saudi-led war on Yemen, urging warring parties to intensify negotiations toward expanding a UN-brokered truce into a “durable ceasefire.”
The UN statement called on both parties to “urgently intensify and be flexible in the negotiations, eschew conditionality,” and agree on “an expanded truce that could be translated into a durable ceasefire.”
“An expanded truce agreement will provide an opportunity to reach an inclusive, comprehensive political settlement based on the agreed references and under the auspices of the United Nations,” the statement read.
The members of the Security Council “condemned all attacks that threatened to derail the truce” and stated that “there is no military solution for Yemen.”
They reiterated their deep concern over the catastrophic ecological, maritime, and humanitarian risk posed by the decaying Safer oil tanker.
The vessel has been anchored just a few miles off the Yemen coast for more than 30 years but offloading and maintenance stopped in 2015 following the start of the war.
The Council members commended countries and the private sector for their pledges in support of a UN plan to transfer the oil onboard the tanker to a temporary vessel.
They called for the pledges to be dispersed, and for funding to be increased to prevent a catastrophe from occurring.
Source: Agencies
