Grundberg: War in Gaza and Lebanon affects progress of peace process in Yemen

The UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, stressed the danger of escalating tensions in the region on the Yemeni peace process, calling for support from the international community.

Grundberg pointed out in an interview with Alhurra TV on Monday, after a week full of meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, that the war in Gaza and Lebanon affects the progress of the peace process in Yemen.

“The instability we have seen in the past period is deeply worrying, not only because thousands of lives have been lost and the crisis has spread grief across the region, but it also casts a shadow over our ability to make decisions in the interests of civilians, and this has affected our work in Yemen,” he said.

In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthis support Hamas, which is waging a war against Israel in Gaza.

Asked about the Houthi rebels continuing to attack ships in the Red Sea and everything related to Israel, he said: “That is why the United Nations has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza from the beginning and the release of the hostages, and we have been clear about the risks of instability on the borders and this leads to instability in the entire region, and this calls for the need for a ceasefire and an end to the conflict.”

He explained that "a stable Yemen can have a positive impact on the region, and a stable region can also have an impact on the war in Yemen," noting that "there is a link between the two matters."

The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, are part of what Iran calls the "axis of resistance," which includes Hamas and Hezbollah in particular.

He described the role of the United Nations in Yemen as mediation between the various parties and stakeholders.

“If I want to be effective in my work, I need full, unconditional support from the international community so that the parties agree on the next step and move beyond the truce we reached in 2022, and for that to happen we need an environment that is conducive to that level,” he said.

The Iranian role

Grundberg stressed that the role of the countries of the region in the conflict in Yemen is "very important," saying: "My ambition since the beginning of my work on this file is to ensure that Yemen's neighbors in the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf and Iran can be constructive in achieving peace in Yemen."

"I am not only communicating with the Yemenis, but with Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Emirates and the Iranians," he added, noting that he visited Tehran less than two weeks ago "and there was a long discussion, and talks here in New York as well."

He refused to discuss the Iranian role, whether it was constructive or not, and the details of the discussions he held in Tehran.

But he said his discussions with the Iranian foreign minister when he visited Tehran two weeks ago "were constructive, and identified the need to move forward to achieve a just solution in Yemen.

He added: "I asked all interlocutors in the region and all stakeholders to have a constructive position towards Yemen and to support peace, and my message to them was that there are enough weapons in Yemen and there is no need for more weapons in Yemen."

US and British strikes

The Houthis regularly attack ships they say are linked to Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The United States has carried out air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, some involving the British military.

Asked about the UN's view on US and British strikes and airstrikes on the Houthis to weaken their ability to disrupt navigation, he said: "There is always the possibility of reaching a negotiated solution to any conflict in any situation, and this is the line that the UN is following."

The Houthi group, designated a "terrorist" group in the United States, said on Monday that it would escalate its military operations against Israel in response to its attacks on Yemen, a day after an Israeli attack on Houthi targets that the group's spokesman said killed five people and wounded 57 others.

Grundberg stressed that "the United Nations supports peaceful developments, and we are concerned about the developments we see. We are always with negotiated settlements. We want to see the developments in Yemen go in the right direction, and in the past months we have not seen this."

Source: Alhurra