‘Saudi Arabia supports political solution in Yemen’

Riyadh: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Wednesday stressed his country’s support for the UN envoy’s efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Yemeni crisis, Al Arabiya News reported.

The announcement was made after a meeting in Riyadh of the Arab foreign ministers to discuss various regional issues, Xinhua reported.

A Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in Yemen welcomed on Wednesday the state of “calm” on the Saudi-Yemeni border to reach a political solution under the UN.

The coalition, which has been engaged in a war in Yemen for almost a year, hailed the mediation of allowing the entry of medical and humanitarian aid to the nearby Yemeni villages.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the coalition Brigadier Ahmed Asiri told reporters that the state of calmness and the Saudi commitment to a political solution in Yemen does not mean any negotiation with the Houthis.

Also, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries expressed, in a joint statement, their support for a political solution in Syria and the importance of keeping Syria’s territories unified.

They also urged the UN Security Council for a process that could impose a more effective cease-fire in Syria.

They reiterated their rejection to Iran’s interference in the region and emphasised that Lebanon’s Shia organisation Hezbollah is terrorist.

–IANS