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Moscow calls to take effort to avoid frustration of truce in Yemen ahead of talks

The ceasefire regime in Yemen has entered into force at 12am on Monday

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Moscow thinks it essential to spare no effort to avoid frustration of truce in Yemen and make full use of the forthcoming intra-Yemeni talks in Kuwait City, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

"Moscow hails reports that ceasefire came into force throughout Yemen from midnight on April 10," the ministry said. "The conflicting parties have officially notified the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy [for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed] about their readiness to observe the truce in order to create conditions for success at the next round of intra-Yemeni settlement talks due to begin in Kuwait on April 18."

The Russian foreign ministry noted that the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states has suspended air strikes in Yemen. "It means that control over the observance of truce will be carried out within the framework of relevant joint mechanisms created under the United Nations auspices," the ministry said.

"We commend the determination voiced in the statements of Yemeni and regional representatives to put an end to the more-than-a-year-long bloody conflict which, according to the United Nations, has claimed the lives of 6,000 people," the ministry said. "It is essential to prevent frustration of the truce and make full use of the forthcoming talks in Kuwait City to encourage the resumption of a wide political dialogue which is called to restore national statehood and unity in friendly Yemen."

The ceasefire regime in Yemen has entered into force at 12am on Monday. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed earlier welcomed cessation of hostilities in the country. In a statement distributed on Sunday the envoy called on the sides to observe ceasefire and create favorable conditions for peace talks that are planned to resume on April 18 in Kuwait.

Confrontation between the country’s authorities supported by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels has continued in Yemen since August 2014. In January 2015, allies of Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), which is also known as the Houthi movement, seized the capital, Sanaa. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi fled the capital first to Aden, and after the Houthis entered that city on March 25, he fled the country.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and also including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, responded to his request and has continued air strikes on Houthi targets from March 26, 2015. Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan also joined the coalition.