NEW YORK, Jan 14 (KUNA) -- UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg cautioned that relative de-escalation since 2022 "was never intended to represent an end state" in the country.
Briefing the UN Security Council on the situation in Yemen via a videolink on Wednesday, Grundberg said "the recent developments in the south show how quickly stability can unravel." He stressed that the future of southern Yemen "cannot be determined by any single actor or through force," underscoring the need for inclusive dialogue, economic stabilization and a UN-facilitated nationwide political process.
He welcomed the initiative of head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi for holding a dialogue in Saudi Arabia among all political actors to help resolve Yemen's southern issue.
Such a dialogue could provide a chance for launching an inclusive inter-Yemeni political process under the umbrella of the United Nations, Grundberg pointed out.
The UN special envoy noted that he held in-depth contacts with all Yemeni actors, as well as regional and international stakeholders in Cairo, Muscat and Riyadh to help defuse the tensions and prepare the ground for a political settlement.
Meanwhile, Grundberg expressed concern about the continued detention of UN staffers in Sanaa, calling for international pressures on the captors to help release them immediately. (end) ast.hss.gb