27 March 2022•Update: 27 March 2022
SANAA, Yemen
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Sunday reiterated its commitment to reaching a political solution to the conflict in Yemen.
GCC Secretary-General Nayef Al-Hajraf met Sunday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak for talks on developments in Yemen.
Al-Hajraf said the GCC is committed “to finding a political solution to the Yemeni crisis and achieving security, stability and peace in Yemen,” the Gulf bloc said in a statement.
The GCC is keen “to support every effort that serves the interests of the Yemeni people and contributes to enhancing Yemen’s stability and territorial integrity,” he added.
The GCC has invited Yemen’s warring parties for talks in Riyadh on March 29 to discuss ways of restoring peace to Yemen.
While the Yemeni government welcomed the invitation, the Houthi rebel group called for holding the dialogue in a neutral country.
Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Arab countries in fighting Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who overran much of Yemen in 2014, including the capital Sanaa.
The eight-year conflict has created one of the world's worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% of the country, or about 30 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million are in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar
