Muscat: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Yemeni parties in Hodeidah, which will begin on December 18.
The Ansar Allah and Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi government agreed to cease fighting in the Red city vital for food and aid supplies, after a week of UN-sponsored peace talks in Swedish capital Stockholm last Thursday.
The Sultanate thanked the Kingdom of Sweden for hosting the Yemeni negotiations, and the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Martin Griffith, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and the UN team for their efforts to hold these talks.
"It values the cooperation and the positive attitude shown by the two parties of the negotiations. The Sultanate affirms that, in response to the royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, it will continue its efforts to support the UN and international community to help the Yemeni parties reach a political solution that will ensure security and stability for Yemen and the Yemeni brotherly people''.
The agreement, the first significant breakthrough in peace efforts in five years, was part of confidence-building measures discussed at peace talks that aim to pave the way for a wider truce and a framework for political negotiations.
Under the deal, international monitors would be deployed in Hodeidah and all armed forces would pull back completely within 21 days of the start of the ceasefire.
A UN-chaired Redeployment Coordination Committee including both sides would oversee implementation. The committee is expected to start its work this week, the UN source said.
The combatants are due to hold another round of talks in January to agree on the political framework for negotiations to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and spawned an urgent humanitarian crisis. --ONA and --AFP
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