US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spoken with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, about coronavirus efforts and the war in Yemen.
“Mr Pompeo expressed his concern over the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for a global response to counter it,"
said Morgan Ortagus, the spokeswoman for the US State Department.
Saudi Arabia's Hajj Minister on Tuesday asked the more than 2 million Muslims expected to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage to temporarily defer preparations amid uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.
Umrah pilgrimages had already been suspended.
'Support for de-escalation efforts'
In the call, Mr Pompeo said he supported efforts to ease tension between the internationally recognised government and the Irani-backed Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, this week said that Riyadh had been in direct talks with the rebels since last September and invited them to the kingdom for more discussion.
The invitation for talks were “undertaken at the request” of the UN special envoy to Yemen, Mr Al Jaber said.
“The secretary and the foreign minister discussed the conflict in Yemen and agreed that only a political solution would bring about stability, peace, and prosperity," Ms Ortagus said.
"The secretary underscored that the United States strongly condemns the Houthis' attempted attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, March 28.
"Secretary Pompeo expressed support for the de-escalation efforts led by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths.
"The secretary and the foreign minister agreed that an unstable Yemen only benefits the Iranian regime and that the regime's destabilising behaviour there must be countered.
"The Secretary underscored that the United States would continue to support Saudi Arabia in the face of Iran's threatening behaviour."
Efforts to end the conflict are being driven by Mr Griffiths, who led peace talks more than a year ago in Sweden.
An agreement was reached on a ceasefire in the port city of Hodeidah and a prisoner exchange but hostilities and mistrust stalled the process.
-
A volunteer sprays disinfectant in Shwedagon Pagoda compound as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Yangon. AFP -
A U.S. Army soldier walks inside a mobile surgical unit being set up by soldiers from Fort Carson, Col., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) as part of a field hospital inside CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle. AP -
Face masks for wedding dresses, tailored by fashion designer Friederike Jorzig are seen in her wedding dress shop, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Berlin, Germany. REUTERS -
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Russia's ambassador in Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, touch their elbows while wearing masks due to coronavirus disease while (COVID-19) outbreak at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS -
U.S. President Donald Trump listens stands in front of a chart labeled “Goals of Community Mitigation” showing projected deaths in the United States after exposure to coronavirus as 1,500,000 - 2,200,000 without any intervention and a projected 100,000 - 240,000 deaths with intervention taken to curtail the spread of the virus during the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. REUTERS -
Two cruise ships are anchored offshore past a lifeguard tower in Miami Beach, Fla. AP -
Workers carry a coffin of a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus during a funeral in Jakarta. AFP -
Kievskaya metro station in Moscow, amid the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. AFP -
A staff member of the Ministry of Health measures the temperature of drivers and passengers during the testing of the COVID-19 Coronavirus on the highway in Nakuru, Kenya. AFP -
Fitness coach Sebastien Manko gives a lesson from the street to ederly people attending from the balconies of their retirement home in Bordeaux. AFP -
A military police officer from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), checks on a homeless man who overdosed, while on patrol in the streets of Hillbrow, Johannesburg. AFP -
Yassin Hussein Moyo’s relatives and friends proceed to bury Yassin’s body at Kariokor Muslim Cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP -
A New York City Police officer (NYPD) takes a selfie while in the middle of the street in an almost empty Times Square, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in New York City, U.S. REUTERS -
Two ring necked parakeets, normally fed by tourists, peck at an apple left on a spike by locals in Hyde Park, as the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak continues in London. AP -
A worker cleans an empty avenue a day after the emergency decree in Mexico City, Mexico. EPA
