(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The EU Foreign Affairs Council Monday condemned the "destabilising unilateral actions" taken by the Houthi rebels and military units loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen.
The Council which met in Luxembourg today in their conclusions on Yemen urged these forces to "end the use of violence immediately and unconditionally and withdraw from areas they have seized, including Sana'a and Aden, and reaffirms its support to Yemen's legitimate authorities." The EU welcomed the appointment of Khaled Bahah as the new Vice President of Yemen by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The Council noted that the President of Yemen informed the President of the Security Council of the United Nations that "he has requested from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and the League of Arab States to immediately provide support, by all necessary means and measures, including military intervention, to protect Yemen and its people from the continuing aggression by the Houthis." It expressed serious concern with the rapidly deteriorating political, security and humanitarian situation in Yemen. "Recent developments carry grave risks for the stability of the region, in particular that of the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and the wider Middle-East," it warned.
The EU said that ultimately the solution to this crisis must be a political one and stands with the international community in its call for an inclusive political process.
The statement urged all Yemeni parties, in particular the Houthis, to work towards resolving their differences through dialogue and consultation and called on all parties to rapidly engage in a process leading to an expeditious cessation of violence and all Yemeni parties to go back to the negotiating table.
The EU also strongly urged the UN to quickly undertake efforts to resume inclusive negotiations and to swiftly appoint a new UN Secretary General's Special Advisor for Yemen.
The Council welcomed "the efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council and its members to complement these initiatives, fully in line with the framework provided by the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative, the National Dialogue Conferences' (NDC) outcomes and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement." It underlined that the formation of a Government of National Unity is the only way to finalise the transition process and avoid economic and financial collapse and the deepening of the humanitarian crisis.
The EU also called on all regional actors to engage constructively with Yemeni parties in order to enable a de-escalation of the crisis and avoid further regional instability.
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