Yemen: Two days before the end of the UN-sponsored truce in Yemen, the United States is intensifying its actions in order to ensure the extension of the agreement. 

As the humanitarian and military truce in Yemen approaches its end next Sunday, Washington has thrown its diplomatic weight into the region during the past few days, with the aim of pushing for an extension of the truce.

During the past 72 hours, the American envoy, Tim Lenderking, held a series of meetings in Riyadh and Aden, at a time when the American ambassador, Stephen Fagin, intensified his movements between Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

According to Yemeni diplomatic sources, the United States stressed the need for the so-called Presidential Council of Saudi-UAE agents to agree to the extension, pointing out that it is betting on the Omani role to persuade Sanaa to do the same, expressing its desire to “completely stop the war and move to the stage of peace.” 

In the same regard, sources in the city of Aden confirmed that the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, who arrived in the city on Tuesday evening, failed to arrange a meeting with the Council of agents.

The sources said that "Grundoberg requested to hold a meeting with the head of the council, Rashad Al-Alimi, before his arrival in Aden, to hold talks on extending the truce, but his request was rejected in protest of the failure of the United Nations to open Taiz roads."

However, the UN envoy met with the Saudi-backed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed bin Mubarak, and informed him of the need to proceed with the implementation of the outcomes of the last meeting of the “Five-year Committee” (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Britain, America + Oman), which approved adding the payment of the salaries for state employees, in the governorates under the control of Sanaa, to the terms of the cease-fire agreement.

However, the Yemeni news agencies quoted Bin Mubarak as saying that he refused to add any new clause.

On the other hand, the Supreme Political Council renewed its demand to open Sanaa International Airport and the port of Hodeidah completely, stressing that the renewal of the truce requires a commitment to pay the salaries of all employees. It pointed out that with the initiative to open a special account at the Central Bank branch in Hodeidah, the port's revenues were supplied to it to contribute to solving the salary crisis, according to the “Stockholm Agreement”, while “the other party did not commit to completing the bridging gap.”

The council accused the US-Saudi aggression of "exploiting the humanitarian side to achieve political gains that it could not reach in the military battle."

In the same regard, political sources in Sanaa confirmed that the payment of salaries is “an urgent necessity to stop the suffering of employees, and it represents an entry point for peace,” noting that “the terms of the truce could have been resolved by the United Nations during the first two months,” and this was not achieved.

According to the evaluation of the Salvation Government, what has been implemented does not exceed 25% of the truce items; The prisoner exchange deal is still stumbling, while the "coalition" is seizing five oil derivatives ships, efforts to open roads and crossings continue to fail, and ceasefire violations are escalating on various frontlines.