Arab Gulf states welcomed news on Monday of a new commitment by warring parties in Yemen to abide by a new ceasefire and work for peace.
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Saturday's announcement by U.N. special envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg is the latest attempt to end a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
The Arabian Peninsula's poorest country has been at war since Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention the following year aimed at propping up the government.
A UN-brokered ceasefire significantly reduced violence in April 2022. The ceasefire expired in October last year but the war has not resumed on a large scale.
Saudi Arabia welcomed the announcement of a “roadmap to move forward towards peace”. In a statement released on Monday, the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh encouraged Yemeni parties “to sit down at the dialogue table to reach a comprehensive and lasting political solution under the auspices of the United Nations.”
The Sultanate of Oman also welcomed the announcement and said it hoped an agreement would be “signed as soon as possible”.
Qatar thanked the United Nations, Saudi Arabia and Oman for their peace efforts and called on the Yemeni parties to speed up the conclusion of an agreement.
The UN envoy said on Saturday he would now work with the parties to create a roadmap for peace.
Yemen's Saudi-backed government welcomed the United Nations' efforts on Sunday after announcing the new ceasefire.