(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz praised Moscow's abstention of vote on a UN Security Council resolution which places sanctions on Yemen's Houthi rebels and their allies, including ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
During a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, the King praised Russia's efforts to normalize the complicated situation in Yemen through its abstention on UNSC resolution 2216, which was approved last Tuesday by 14 members with only one abstention.
The resolution, drafted by the six Gulf Cooperation Council states which include Saudi Arabia, slaps sanctions, including an arms embargo, on the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Saleh under Chapter VII of the UN Charter amid the "significant and rapidly deteriorating' humanitarian situation." It demands all parties in Yemen to refrain from unilateral actions that could undermine the country's UN-sponsored political transition.
It also demands that Houthis immediately and unconditionally end violence, withdraw forces from areas they have seized, relinquish all arms, cease activities undermining the authority of the country's legitimate government, refrain from provocation against neighboring states, release the Defense Minister Gen. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi and end the recruitment of children.
The resolution calls on all Yemeni parties, particularly the Houthis, to abide by the GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and relevant Security Council resolutions, and to resume and accelerate inclusive UN-brokered negotiations.
Furthermore, President Putin and King Salman expressed keenness to extend their coordination on regional and international affairs and in mutual benefit, according to a Russian presidential press centre statement.
King Salman was also invited to visit Moscow.
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