MOSCOW, January 11. /TASS/. Russia and the United Nations call on the opposing sides in Yemen to implement the agreements reached in Sweden in December 2018, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday, following a Moscow meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths.
The two diplomats "discussed the military, political and humanitarian situation in Yemen, focusing on the prospects of implementing the agreements reached at the UN-sponsored intra-Yemeni consultations, held in Sweden on December 6-13, 2018, and enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolution 2451." "In this regard, the parties emphasized the importance of continued collective efforts to encourage the opposing sides in Yemen to fulfill their obligations under the agreements," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia "confirmed its support for Griffiths’s efforts aimed at putting an end to violence and bloodshed in Yemen as soon as possible and finding a long-standing and comprehensive political solution to the issue based on the interests of the Yemeni people," the statement reads.
The agreements reached in Sweden in December 2018 concern the port of Hodeidah. Houthi fighters and the Yemeni government agreed to halt hostilities and gradually withdraw armed units from Hodeidah, as well as from the ports of Salif and Ras Isa. A monitoring committee was established, which comprises representatives of the opposing sides and head of a team of UN ceasefire monitors Patrick Cammaert.
Since a ceasefire took effect on December 18, both parties to the conflict have been accusing each other of violations. At the same time, both failed to withdraw troops and create demilitarized zones, so the United Nations was unable to open a humanitarian corridor at the scheduled time.