Saudi Arabia presented on Monday a new peace initiative to end the war in Yemen which includes a nationwide ceasefire under UN supervision, the kingdom's foreign minister said.
The initiative also includes the reopening of Sanaa airport, allowing fuel and food imports through Hodeidah port and restarting political negotiations between the Saudi-Backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis, said Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
"The initiative will take effect as soon as the Houthis agree to it," Prince Faisal said.
Yemen's Houthi group played down the new Saudi initiative to end a six-year-old war saying there was nothing new in the offer.
However the group's chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam said the Houthis would continue to talk with Riyadh, Muscat and Washington to try to reach a peace agreement.
"Opening the airports and seaports is a humanitarian right and should not be used as a pressure tool," Abdulsalam told Reuters. Yemen's internationally recognized government welcomed a Saudi initiative to end the six-year-old conflict that proposed on Monday a nationwide ceasefire and a reopening of air and sea links, a statement from its foreign ministry said.The United Nations welcomed on Monday Saudi Arabia's new peace initiative to end the war in Yemen, which aligns with the world body's own efforts, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Monday.