The UN has held “frank, detailed and constructive” talks with the Houthi authorities in Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa, Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced on Wednesday.
Grundberg arrived in Sanaa on Monday for talks with high-ranking Houthi officials. Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Grundberg called on the warring sides in Yemen’s civil war to take “bold steps” toward ending the conflict, which has been ongoing since 2014.
The situation in Yemen has been relatively calmer in the past year. Saudi Arabia, which led a military operation in Yemen following the Houthi takeover, began peace talks with the Iran-backed Houthis last month, and the two sides exchanged prisoners of war. The talks followed Saudi Arabia and Iran’s rapprochement in March.
“Moving forward, any agreement needs to deliver tangible benefits for all Yemenis,” Grundberg said. “It should durably stop the violence through a cease-fire that ensures the safety of the Yemeni people.”
He called for increasing aid access to Yemen, restarting oil exports from the country, and opening key roads.
According to the UN, more than 370,000 people have died since 2014 from the war’s direct or indirect causes.