JEDDAH — Senior representatives of the governments of Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States met on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Yemen. The UN Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, attended the meeting as a guest. The Quint strongly condemned the Houthis' repeated attacks against civilians within Yemen, including US local staff in Sana'a, and their continued heinous terrorist attacks against Saudi Arabia and more recently the United Arab Emirates. "Such actions are obstructing peace efforts and exacerbating suffering," they said. The Quint reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and underlined the need to hold perpetrators of acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The Quint expressed full support for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and their legitimate national security concerns and called for an immediate end to attacks by the Houthis. The Quint acknowledged the legitimate right of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to defend themselves against terrorist attacks as per International Law and following International Humanitarian Law, including taking all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm. The Quint further condemned the seizure of the Rwabee vessel off the coast of Yemen, highlighting the significant risk posed by the Houthis to the maritime security in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The Quint discussed the illicit Iranian provision of missiles and advanced weaponry to the Houthis in violation of UN Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2231. The Quint reiterated the importance of an urgent and comprehensive political solution to the conflict. The Quint re-affirmed their support for the UN Special Envoy's efforts to achieve this end, including renewed political dialogue. They called upon the leadership of the Yemeni parties to the conflict to engage constructively with the UN Special Envoy as he deepens his consultations with them. The Quint discussed the dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen and agreed that maintaining direct humanitarian and development support to the country is essential, including protecting the safety of humanitarian workers. Key humanitarian access routes must be protected to mitigate potential escalation of the humanitarian crisis. The Quint acknowledged that the economic crisis in Yemen is exacerbating humanitarian suffering and stressed the importance of additional economic support from the international community to stabilize Yemen's economy, coupled with essential reforms to improve financial transparency. The Quint also discussed the need to find an urgent solution to the hijacked FS0 Safer and called upon the Houthis to allow UN access to the vessel to conduct an assessment of the tanker. The Quint agreed to meet regularly to coordinate a response to the Yemen crisis and support the UN Special Envoy to Yemen.
