The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, welcomes the commitment of the Government of Yemen, the Houthis and the General People's Congress to join peace talks that he will convene in the region next week.

The peace talks, for which a venue and date will be announced in the coming days, are aimed at creating a framework for an agreement on implementation mechanisms for United Nations Security Council resolution 2216, a cease-fire and the resumption of a peaceful political transition, in accordance with the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and Implementation Mechanism and the Outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference.

The Special Envoy applauds the decision of Yemeni President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi and other Yemeni parties to attend the talks. He urges the participants in the talks to engage constructively and in good faith, recognising the need or a rapid end to the violence which has brought intolerable levels of suffering to the Yemeni people.

The Special Envoy is very grateful for the support of states in the region and in the international community for their efforts to help Yemenis find a way out of the current conflict.