Germany's Baerbock says UN must broker Yemen peace

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday urged the United Nations said lasting peace in Yemen could only be brokered through the United Nations.

Hope is emerging of an end to the war after a thaw in relations between the rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran.

What the German foreign minister said

Baerbock, on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, said the recent rapprochement between the two countries meant there was finally a "glimmer of hope" for Yemen after years of war.

"It's important to me that there's a little more light out of the glimmer," she added, making an "urgent appeal" to the actors involved in the civil war-torn country to negotiate a ceasefire.

"We're still a long way from the home stretch," Baerbock said after a meeting with Yemeni counterpart Ahmed bin Mubarak in the city of Jeddah. "A lot more is needed for a lasting peace."

"To achieve this, all parties must be involved," she added, saying it was essential that they support the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.

Baerbock also met the UN Coordinator for Yemen, David Gressly, to talk about the humanitarian catastrophe after eight years of civil war in the poorest country of the Arab world.

Berlin estimates that some 67% of Yemen's population — which amounts to 21 million people, including around 11 million children — need aid.

"It is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world," Baerbock added.

Fighting has diminished considerably since a truce was announced in April 2022, although the ceasefire expired in October.

Riyadh's ambassador to Yemen traveled to Sanaa in April as part of a plan to "stabilize" the truce.

Is an end to the war in Yemen likely?

The conflict in Yemen is a civil war on the surface, but it is also a proxy war between the country's Saudi Arabian-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels alongside other smaller groups.

However, there has been a recent thaw in relations between Tehran and Riyadh, which has significantly increased the chances of peace in Yemen.

A flurry of diplomatic activity followed a Chinese-brokered announcement in March that Iran and Saudi Arabia, who have backed opposing sides in conflicts around the Middle East, would work towards repairing ties.

Riyadh broke off relations in 2016 after protesters in Iran attacked Saudi diplomatic missions. That followed the execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, although it was only one in a series of flashpoints between the long-time regional rivals.

Saudi Arabia has been a war party in Yemen since 2015. Its air force carried out numerous attacks on the country, killing thousands of Yemeni civilians, according to human rights groups.

The country appears keen to end the costly war, which the UN estimates has killed at least 377,000 people. Riyadh has been engaging in back-channel negotiations with the Houthi, including talks in neutral neighbor Oman.

Later in the day, Baerbock was due in Qatar, where talk on the situation of the approximately 2.6 million foreign migrant workers in the country was planned.

Germany was among the foremost critics of the country hosting last year's men's football World Cup after reports of migrant worker deaths and mistreatment.

rc/jcg (AFP, dpa)