(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Hanadi Al-Baloushi
KUWAIT, June 26 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon Sunday expressed deep appreciation for the State of Kuwait, its leadership and people for their great support of the Yemeni peace talks, which have been held in Kuwait for more than two months.
"I would like to express my deepest appreciation to his highness the Amir of kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and goverment and people of kuwait for their great support for the Yemeni peace talks here in kuwait," Ban said in a statement to KUNA and Kuwait TV on sidelines of his visit to Kuwait.
Ban, who arrived in Kuwait last night on the left leg of a regional tour, said the Yemeni conflict was not a local issue anymore, but has regional and international impacts.
Hundreds of thousands of the Yemeni people are suffering from severe shortage of food and medicine, as well as destruction of infrastructure, he said.
"We are deeply concerned in humanitarian situations caused by this continuing conflict, there is a serious shortage of food and medicines for sick people, a lot of infrastructures have been destroyed," he said.
"People of Yemen have suffered seriously so much. It is a concern not only for the united nations, the hundred of thousands people of Yemen are now a regional concern," asserted Ban.
Ban was speaking after meeting representatives of the Yemeni parties attending the Kuwait-hosted talks.
"I had been urging the representatives of two parties to exercise the maximum flexibility and narrow down the differences," he said.
Ban said the parties should look beyond their "own party lines and look for a better future for Yemen." If they follow this thinking, he added, "they will be able to find answers" to their problems.
Ban hoped the Yemeni parties reach a settlement as soon as possible.
"The longer the talks continue, the more time they will need to recover and reconstruct their country," he added.
Ban met with His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
Discussions dealt with the peace talks of Yemen and how to end the conflict peacefully.
"I have been urging the Kuwaiti leaders to render their strong support" to reach a peaceful settlement for the conflict in Yemen, he said.
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