Grundberg: The future of the south needs to be addressed according to a future perspective, and Yemen in general needs to move away from aid

 In his most recent televised interview, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, appeared on Tuesday on the Yemen Today channel, answering 20 questions related to developments in the UN mediation efforts that he has been leading for nearly two years to resolve the armed conflict in Yemen.

 Grundberg seemed not optimistic about the possibility of reaching a political settlement in Yemen in the short and medium term, and he repeated more than once that, given the nature of the conflict in the country, he is working to ensure a long-term solution is reached at the hands of the Yemenis themselves.

 The questions of the meeting centered on the developments of his last round and his assessment of the negotiating situation between the parties to the war, in addition to the most prominent contentious issues in the stalled negotiations, most notably the southern issue, salaries, opening closed roads, the possibility of renewing the armistice, and the role of the international and regional community in resolving the stumbling blocks of the negotiations for a political solution.

“The question of the South, and the question of the future of the South, is a long-standing issue, and it goes without saying, it has been going on for a very long time,” Grundberg said. “This issue is linked to issues of a long-term nature such as: future governance arrangements and the management of resources and revenues at the national level.”

 While he said that he believes “that the southern issue and the future of the South need to be addressed,” he said that “it must be addressed in the context of a negotiated settlement regarding the future of Yemen. It must be addressed in a peaceful manner, and it must be addressed among Yemenis, where the various voices of the South are allowed to be heard, but the voices of the South are also allowed to be heard.”  other, so that it is done in an orderly and peaceful manner.”

 He added that he deals with the southern leaders "as he engages with all Yemenis, through direct and honest exchanges with them," recalling his recent visit to Aden and his meeting with the member of the Presidential Leadership Council and President of the Southern Transitional Council, Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi.  He said: “This is not the first discussion I have had with him. It is a series of long conversations I had with him about how to find ways to address the conflict in Yemen on a broader level, as well as how to address the southern issue” according to a future perspective that focuses on finding solutions.  

He considered that settling the southern issue "would be in the interest of the long-term settlement of the conflict."

Grundberg reaffirmed what he used to say to the press during his recent tour, which included: Riyadh, Muscat, Cairo, Aden, Marib, and Abu Dhabi, and the goal he aspires to achieve, which is resuming a political process that could lead to a sustainable settlement of the conflict in Yemen.  He considered that the truce, which has been stalled for renewal since October 2022, was a turning point and an opportunity to enter into discussions with the parties that he had not been able to hold before.  In addition to the fact that it led to the opening of Sanaa Airport and the port of Hodeidah, he said that it is not sufficient to achieve a complete solution to the Yemeni crisis, and is not the ultimate goal of his mediation efforts.

 He added: “If we do not build on the truce, all the issues that still need to be settled to reach a long-term settlement to the conflict will also remain fragile and difficult to resolve,” indicating that he and his team are seeking to ensure that the necessary steps are achieved to move from the current situation, towards real steps for a political settlement.  Inclusive.

 He said that he is working with regional and international partners to reach solutions to the controversial issues at the present time, but he also said: “I will not guess” when this will happen and whether it will actually happen, pointing out that the level of trust after eight years of war is still a rare resource in Yemen, and that trust  "After this conflict you cannot magically come back, and he is working to restore a certain amount of trust in a gradual and careful way."

The UN envoy stressed: “What we need is a clear commitment from all parties regarding the need to enter into political negotiations on a longer-term settlement of the conflict. For this to happen, I think that we first engage in dialogue with the parties on the current basis, which is to try to obtain the parties’ commitment to the three elements that we want.”  “Working with them on: making sure that we have a commitment to a nationwide ceasefire and implementing that ceasefire, also engaging on issues related to the economy, and most importantly, making sure that we see a resumption of the political process.”

 While he said that no agreement had been reached in this regard yet, he said that discussions were continuing to push the parties in this direction.

 Grundberg refused to talk about the possibility of resuming political negotiations soon, considering it to be speculation, and that he did not want to discuss it “on television in prime time,” indicating that there are developments under discussion to resume negotiations that he does not currently want to talk about in public.  To avoid this question, he turned the conversation toward what he considered “the level of impatience and frustration” that he felt while speaking “with many Yemenis recently,” including during his recent visit to Aden and Marib.  He added: "There is a feeling of impatience because things are not moving at the pace people want."

 He said that he shares this level of impatience with the Yemenis, and that the slow pace is frustrating for him as well, but his hope remains that “there is the possibility of resolving the conflict and that we can reach a solution where the parties agree on a comprehensive settlement or agree on steps that lead to a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.”

The UN envoy also refused to answer the question about who is obstructing the political settlement efforts he is leading, saying: Naming the obstructionists is not his role, and that his role is to bring the parties together to engage in negotiations until they reach an agreement.  He added: "If I start pointing out who is to blame for every step we take in this direction, I will fail in my mission, because that will put me in an impossible position. So, while we take steps forward and sometimes we take steps back, sometimes some of them are to blame."  While the responsibility falls on others at other times, this is a natural development of any type of mediation.”

 In response to a question about accusing the United Nations of being biased towards the Houthis and providing them with material and moral support, Grundberg said: “I am also accused of being biased towards the Yemeni government. I think this is the normal situation for any mediator, as at any moment you will be accused by one side or the other of being biased.”  He added, "In principle, my only bias remains the principles and standards of international law, as well as the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Yemeni people."

 He stressed that he was aware of the visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa, accompanied by the Omani delegation, last April, and that there is a “common understanding” between the Yemenis, their neighbors, and the international community on the necessity of ending the conflict in Yemen through a serious political process that takes place under the auspices of the United Nations.  He indicated that he is working to ensure "a situation where Yemenis can sit down, meet and engage constructively in order to reach long-term agreements and a sustainable and just settlement of the conflict."

 He said that there is now "a different level of interaction between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, but there are also other discussions taking place at different levels," without mentioning the nature of these discussions.

He reiterated that he is carrying out his mission keeping in mind two basic principles, the first of which is the long-term vision that I am trying to convey, and which I have worked to achieve since I took office.  The other issue is to take advantage of the different opportunities that the current situation offers me, which provide entry points and provide possible solutions to reach the long-term goal.  This means that the work I do adapts in the short term, but remains stable in the long term.”

 Grundberg confirmed that he was also aware of the other meetings that took place after the Saudi delegation’s visit to Sana’a, and said: “I feel that I am aware of the level of discussions that are taking place, because as I mentioned previously, there is an agreement or there is an understanding between all parties... actors in the Yemeni file, whether in  "The international community, among Yemen's neighbors, or the Yemenis themselves, said that the goal is to resume the political process under the auspices of the United Nations."

 Regarding his recent visit to Aden and Marib, he said that he felt that "the economic challenges are real and present and must be addressed in the interest of Yemen and must be discussed," and that he has a mandate "to try to resolve the political side of the Yemeni file," including issues of an economic nature as well, to ensure that no  Politicization of some economic issues during political negotiation.

 He continued, "It is clear that when you visit Yemen and talk to Yemenis, the priority they are talking about is the economic suffering that they face on a daily basis. The long-term solution to this daily economic suffering is to reach a political settlement to the conflict, a long-term sustainable settlement to the conflict, because that will allow the free flow of  Goods will be sent to Yemen with unified taxes, and it will allow the return to normal life that Yemen needs and Yemenis need.”

 He added that the "broader issue" he is working on, which is the resumption of the political process, is in his opinion "more important for the long-term settlement of the conflict".

 Regarding the opening of the port of Hodeidah, he said, "One of the challenges that we have seen in Yemen for a long time is the decline in the purchasing power of the Yemenis themselves. Therefore, even if food is available, the big challenge is the ability or inability of Yemenis to buy this food."  Therefore, his meetings included representatives from the private sector to focus on how to ensure the free and wide flow of goods as possible so that the price of the commodity decreases and the purchasing power of Yemenis increases.

Grundberg did not explain how the purchasing power of the Yemenis could be increased in light of the current deteriorating economic situation, or how the prices of food commodities could be reduced at a time when prices are doubling day after day despite the opening of the port of Hodeidah and the expansion of its scope of work.

 On the points related to revenue in the interlocutor's questions, Grundberg replied that the question of revenue mainly must be answered by the Yemenis themselves through negotiation under UN auspices.  He said that the matter is not limited to revenues from the port of Hodeidah only, "but other revenues inside Yemen."

 As for the implementation of the provision for handing over the salaries of state employees, he said that the matter should be very easy compared to the agreement of all parties on the need to hand them over, "but once you enter into how to deliver these salaries, you enter into very complex questions when it comes to the budget and when it comes to revenues."

 As for opening the closed roads, the UN envoy did not seem to have anything new in this regard. In his response to the axes, he talked about talks he had held "earlier with a number of Yemenis in other governorates, not only in Taiz, about the need to open the roads there as well from  In order to facilitate the movement of people.  He also talked about his visit to the city of Taiz, two months after he assumed office, and considered that the closed roads have not been opened so far as "disappointing" for him.

 The UN envoy downplayed the importance of the Yemenis relying on the solution to their crisis and the settlement of the conflict in the country to come from abroad, stressing that "the long-term settlement must be reached through negotiations between the Yemenis. The region or any external party can provide support, but it cannot  Provide the solution.”

He acknowledged that the international community's attention is now divided between a number of serious conflicts around the world, Yemen being one of them, and that "this is a challenge because you want attention, but you also want financial support, and you want political leverage from the international community when you're trying to settle a conflict like the one in Yemen."  He also expressed his regret for the continuation of the war in Yemen at a time when other wars have broken out, such as the war in Ukraine, Sudan, and others, considering that “when attention is divided between other conflicts in the world, obtaining this level of support becomes more difficult.”  He also stressed that he is in constant and close dialogue with the Americans, the Russians, and the Chinese, and that there is a common understanding that unites these three countries, while those countries view some other files in a completely different way.  They share common denominators in approach and in their support for the work of the United Nations.

 The UN envoy to Yemen stressed that the international community can provide significant support for the political settlement in Yemen, provided that it avoids “excessive guidance regarding what the Yemenis want to agree on,” and if the Yemenis themselves are allowed to define their own goals and determine their future.

 He said that the Yemenis need to end the conflict as soon as possible in order to embark on a more sustainable path to self-reliance, moving away from humanitarian aid provided from abroad, and directing any support towards development.

المصدر: نيوزيمن