British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Sunday welcomed "progress" in Yemen peace talks, saying a solution to the conflict in the battered Arabian Peninsula country must be political, not military. Speaking in Saudi Arabia at the start of a three-day visit to Gulf monarchies, Hammond also said world powers will not "turn a blind eye" to attempts by Iran to destabilise the region.
"In Yemen, progress is being made and we recognise the efforts of the Gulf states, and I have to give particular thanks to Kuwait for hosting the peace negotiations," Hammond told a news conference in Jeddah.
"All of us must continue to work towards a settlement," he told reporters, flanked by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
"There is no military alternative to a political settlement in Yemen and there is now a need to win the peace particularly by helping Yemen with stabilisation and humanitarian aid," Hammond said.
His comments come days after the UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, also spoke about progress in the five-week-old talks under way in Kuwait between the Yemeni government and Iran-backed Shia Huthi rebels and their allies.
"The discussions have become more sensitive and delicate bringing us closer to a comprehensive agreement," the UN envoy said on Wednesday.
The apparent progress comes after Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi said on Monday that the government stood ready to make concessions for the sake of peace.
Despite a 14-month-old Saudi-led military intervention in support the government, the rebels and their allies still control many of Yemen's most populous regions, including the capital Sanaa.
Hammond said he was reassuring his Gulf counterparts that world powers are closely monitoring Iran in the wake of last year's nuclear deal which paved the way for a partial lifting of sanctions.
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