The truce in Yemen has enhanced Sana’a airport’s commercial capacity, fostering confidence-building, and facilitating essential travel and medical care for Yemenis, according to US Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking.
“The commitment to build up the commercial capacity of Sana’a airport has been honoured, with the more than a hundred commercial flights that have gone back and forth between Sana’a and Amman, Jordan at the rate of three and sometimes more per week," he told a virtual press briefing on Wednesday.
“This is not the end of that particular pillar of the truce; we would like to see more destinations, more commercial flights,” the envoy said, as he shed light on the developments and challenges surrounding the truce in Yemen, which was initiated in April of the previous year.
The briefing covered key agreements and tenets that have been established, as well as measures in place for the expansion of the truce and the prospect of achieving sustainable peace in the war-torn nation.
According to Lenderking, the expansion of commercial flights is an ongoing priority, aimed at further enhancing connectivity and accessibility for Yemeni citizens. There has been a substantial reduction in bureaucratic hurdles for the movement of oil and other commercial supplies through Hudaydah Port.
He said that this decline aligns with the principle endorsed by the US and other stakeholders that an unhindered flow of humanitarian and commercial aid should reach Yemeni shores.
“The US has long emphasised the principle that there should be no impediments to movement of commercial and humanitarian supplies into Yemen. And so we want to see that this principle is ultimately upheld,” the envoy stressed.
About the issue of unpaid salaries for Yemeni civil servants, Lenderking pointed out that this long-standing concern has been addressed, urging both sides of the conflict to collaborate in finding a solution to this critical problem – with support from the United Nations and international partners.
About the timeline for stability in Yemen, he acknowledged the positive strides made, including prisoner releases involving all sides of the conflict and the engagement of conflict parties in constructive dialogues.
“Obviously, stability in Yemen is something that we wanted yesterday. We’re in a situation where, despite the positive elements that I’ve referred to, Yemenis are still suffering. While there are commercial flights and more ability to move around the country, the country is not fully at peace.
“The war is not – is not fully over. And so the kind of process I’ve described of Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue which leads to a political agreement is something that we really have to see. And so that’s what’s driving our sense of urgency and our sense of commitment to wanting to see positive change,” the envoy said.
While underlining the urgency and commitment driving the efforts for positive change, he lauded the willingness of the parties to engage constructively, shown by recent interactions between a Houthi delegation and Oman.
According to Lenderking, these diplomatic moves, along with active involvement from regional actors, are seen as crucial components to ultimately ending the conflict on a durable note.
“At the same time, we are also seeing the conflict parties engage in a constructive manner. You saw last April there was a very large release of prisoners, more than 900 prisoners, from all three sides – Saudis, Yemen Government, and Houthi side.
“But there are still prisoners detained by the different sides. We need to see this file closed and resolved; we need to see the economic issues taken on. We are, at the moment, the largest humanitarian donor to Yemen with more than 665 million in humanitarian assistance so far this year. We want to see other donors step up and support Yemen’s humanitarian challenges,” he added.
