On Thursday, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, began a visit to Riyadh to discuss the latest developments in the country, in light of the military escalation of the Houthi militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen.

 The UN envoy said, in a statement, that he visited Riyadh and met with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, and the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

 He explained that the discussions focused on the recent developments in Yemen, and the need to support constructive dialogue between the parties to reduce tension and make progress towards an inclusive political process.

During the past days, the Houthi militia escalated its military operations on various fronts, in parallel with its continued intransigence in rejecting UN and international efforts to reach a long-term armistice agreement in the country.

For its part, the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council announced, in a statement, the reception of its Secretary-General, Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen, Thursday, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh.

The statement said that Al-Budaiwi affirmed "the determination of the Cooperation Council to support all international efforts in a way that contributes to achieving security, stability, development and peace in brotherly Yemen."

He added, "The GCC's firm position on supporting legitimacy in Yemen and ending the Yemeni crisis was also reviewed by reaching a political solution to the Yemeni crisis in accordance with the three references, represented by the Gulf initiative and its implementation mechanism, the outcomes of the comprehensive national dialogue conference, and Security Council Resolution 2216."

 The statement reaffirmed what was stated in the statement of the Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf at its 43rd session (December 2022 AD), in which the leaders of the GCC states renewed support for the Yemeni legitimacy represented by the Presidential Leadership Council, headed by His Excellency Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, and the entities supporting the Council to enable it to carry out their duties in achieving security and stability in Yemen, and preserving its unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The meeting also witnessed a review of the GCC's supportive efforts to renew the armistice sponsored by the United Nations and to provide all aspects of support in the humanitarian, relief, economic and development fields in Yemen, according to the same statement.

The UN envoy's visit comes as part of his efforts to reach a new ceasefire agreement in Yemen as a prelude to entering into a negotiation process to end the nine-year-old conflict.