The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, concluded today, Wednesday, a three-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he met senior Saudi and Yemeni officials to discuss the United Nations’ plan to achieve a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen, ease restrictions on the movement of people and commodities to and from the country, and commit the parties to the conflict to the resumption of a political process to end the conflict.

During his visit, Mr. Griffiths met the Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense, Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Yemeni Vice President, Ali Mohsen Saleh, the Yemeni Prime Minister, Maeen Abdulmalik, the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohamed Al Jaber and the US Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, as well as other diplomats. In his meetings, Mr. Griffiths discussed the critical situation in Ma’rib and stressed the battle for Ma’rib must stop to allow diplomatic peace efforts a chance to yield positive results. He further expressed hope that the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement will continue to progress and emphasized the importance of protecting against further fragmentation in Yemen.

“The parties have a responsibility to the people of Yemen finally to find peaceful ways to resolve their differences. Changing course remains possible now, but it will become much harder if the war continues, if the country is even more fragmented than it is, and if the worsening humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate. Yemenis deserve better than a life of perpetual war,” Mr. Griffiths said.