US President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed the extension of a UN-brokered truce between Yemen's warring parties, and said Saudi Arabia had demonstrated “courageous leadership” by endorsing and enacting its terms.
The UN's Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg earlier announced that the existing ceasefire, which began in April on the first day of Ramadan, had been extended by two months.
“The last two months in Yemen, thanks to the truce brokered in April, have been among the most peaceful periods since this terrible war began seven years ago,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
The president said Oman, Egypt and Jordan had also played roles in enabling the truce process.
“The United States will remain engaged in this process over the coming weeks and months” and is focused on deterring threats to its friends and partners, Mr Biden added.
He said that it is important for the parties in the conflict to work to make the truce permanent.
“I urge all parties to move expeditiously towards a comprehensive and inclusive peace process. Our diplomacy will not rest until a permanent settlement is in place,” Mr Biden said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also welcomed the truce extension, calling it an "important step" toward peace.
Aid groups push to feed Yemen's hungry - in pictures
-
The father of malnourished boy Jiad Muhammad Jalal, 1, holds him at a camp for internally displaced people in Hajjah, Yemen. All photos: Reuters -
A volunteer gives a meal to a woman at a charity kitchen in Sanaa. -
About 17.4 million people need food aid as funding dries up, the UN has said. -
Boys stand in line as they wait to receive meals from a charity kitchen in Sanaa. -
Children have been particularly affected by the conflict in Yemen, UN figures show, with 2.2 million youngsters acutely malnourished. -
Boys leave after receiving meals from a charity kitchen in Sanaa. -
A woman cooks a meal at a camp for displaced people in Al Ghaidha. -
A girl picks food prepared by her mother at a camp for displaced people in Al Ghaidha. -
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said Yemen and other vulnerable nations are being hit hard by the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. -
Internally displaced people collect food aid distributed by a charity in Taez.
