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HomeRemarks and Releases – Dubai Regional Media Hub ...Telephonic Press Briefing
with Timothy A. Lenderking U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen
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TELEPHONIC PRESS BRIEFING WITH TIMOTHY A. LENDERKING U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR
YEMEN

Special Briefing via Telephone

Timothy A. Lenderking, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen

August 4, 2022




MODERATOR:  Great, thank you so much.  Greetings to everyone from the U.S.
Department of State’s Dubai Regional Media Hub.  I would like to welcome our
participants dialing in from the Middle East and around the world for this
on-the-record briefing with Tim Lenderking, the U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen.

Special Envoy Lenderking will provide details about U.S. diplomatic efforts in
support of the UN truce extension in Yemen and the UN ongoing peace progress to
durably resolve the conflict.  After opening remarks, Special Envoy Lenderking
will take your questions.

I will now turn it over to Special Envoy Lenderking for his opening remarks. 
Sir, the floor is yours.

MR LENDERKING:  Thank you very much.  Good afternoon and good morning,
everybody.  Thank you for joining us today.  As you all know, the truce in Yemen
was extended for another two months on August 2nd.  If the truce holds for the
next two months, which we thoroughly expect, six months of de-escalation and
significant advances on numerous lines of effort, I think it’s a very, very
important achievement.  It really helps Yemen turn the corner potentially for a
durable ceasefire and an inclusive and comprehensive political process.  And
that is very much our goal.

And I think paired with that you have to look at the very, very significant
impact and benefits that the truce has brought to the Yemeni people in terms of
access, in terms of commercial flights, and the pieces that we’re going to be
pursuing going forward I think will only deepen that sense of positive impact.

The truce offers Yemenis the longest period of calm since the war began, and it
offers them real relief.  And I think that when you look at the various
components of that, you can see that borne out.  Civilian casualties are down by
about 60 percent since before the start of the truce.  Approximately 8,000
Yemenis have flown from Sana’a on these commercial flights for the first time
since 2016.  Five times more fuel is entering Hodeidah Port per month compared
to 2021.  The expanded agreement that we want to see here going forward – in
other words, we’ve had these two-month rollovers – the UN has drafted an
expanded truce agreement with Yemen that they have shared with the Yemeni
parties.

What needs to happen over the next two months is intensified negotiations to
finalize that agreement for the sake of all Yemenis.  So we’re going to need
compromise from all sides to make progress, which includes initial Houthi action
to open the main roads to Taiz.  Taiz, as you know, is Yemen’s third-largest
city.  The residents there have been living under siege-like conditions since
2015.  So this siege must end in Taiz as well.

The United States and the international community are really working hand in
hand here to support Yemen’s peace process and its recovery.  First and
foremost, of course, it’s incumbent upon the Yemeni parties themselves to choose
peace.  So again, what we want to look forward – what we want to see going
forward is the way paved through the expansion of the truce to a comprehensive
ceasefire and a political process.  The expanded agreement would enable
discussions on a comprehensive nationwide ceasefire that could bring true peace
and calm to Yemen, and it also paves the way for resuming a Yemeni-Yemeni
political process.  That, in our view – and indeed, I think it is the
international consensus – is the only thing that can durably address, durably
resolve the conflict and reverse the humanitarian crisis.

So the U.S. remains committed to bolstering UN peace efforts.  You see the
President’s statement on August 2nd, that of the Secretary of State.  You know
that during the President’s visit to Saudi Arabia several weeks ago, there was a
strong commitment conveyed by the Saudi leadership to extend the truce in Yemen,
and that was borne out on August 2nd.  Not only Saudi Arabia, but the Omanis
have played a critical role, and I would also point to our own efforts in terms
of mobilizing international support and consensus, but also noting that we are
the largest – one of the largest of the single donors that in 2022, the United
States has given over $1 billion in aid to Yemen, and that brings our total to
nearly five billion since the crisis began.  So there’s no question that America
is putting its weight into this on both the political side and the humanitarian
side.  That said, donors need to continue to step up to support Yemen, and we
will be working very, very hard over the coming months to really push donors to
continue to fill the gaps.

Let me just close with two other messages that relate to the Yemen conflict. 
It’s still extremely unfortunate, and we condemn the Houthi detention of 12 of
our current and former U.S. and UN staff.  They’re still being held
incommunicado in Yemen, in Sana’a.  This detention, we feel, sends an extremely
negative signal.  We want to see a demonstration of good faith by the Houthis in
releasing these individuals unconditionally.

Lastly, while we’ve been very focused on the truce with them and the various
elements that go into it and keeping fighting at an all-time low in Yemen for an
extended period, we’re also very, very actively involved in supporting the UN to
prevent the explosion or more of the leakage from the Safer tanker into the Red
Sea.  And so the target, as many of you know, has been $80 million to raise for
an operation that would offload the oil from the Safer tanker onto an adjacent
vessel.

That’s not a great deal considering what’s at stake.  If there is an explosion
of the Safer, we’re looking at $20 billion just for the cleanup.  There will be
impact on international commerce.  There will be the destruction of vital
maritime habitat.  It will worsen the humanitarian situation in Yemen by
obstructing passage into Yemen’s ports.  It will decimate the Red Sea’s marine
ecosystem.  We’re getting closer to this 80 million, and again, we’re going to
call on donors in both – for both governments and the private sector to step up
urgently at this time to close the gap so that we can move forward and prevent
this environmental disaster.

Thank you very much.

MODERATOR:  Great.  Thank you, sir.  We will now begin the question and answer
portion of today’s call.  I do have quite a few pre-submitted questions from our
colleagues over on the Arabic phone line, and we’ll try to get through some of
those.

Our first question is from our live queue and it goes to Nadia Bilbassy from
Al-Arabiya.  Operator, please open the line.

OPERATOR:  Nadia’s line is open.  Please go ahead.

QUESTION:  I really appreciate —

MODERATOR:  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry, Nadia, please restart.  Your line is now
open.

QUESTION:  Can you hear me now?  Okay.  Hi, Sam, and hi, Tim.  Thank you so much
for doing this.  For the ceasefire, is it any indication that beyond extension
for the next two months, is there actually a framework that you can build on and
go forward?  In other words, what gives you confidence that actually the
Houthis, which unable to put pressure – I mean the international community and
the U.S. – to release 12 members of the embassy, are actually able to go forward
not just to extend the ceasefire but to build a process which, as you know, has
taken so many people in the region?  What are the indications that gives you
confidence actually that we can see something different than just an extension
of the ceasefire?  Thank you.

MR LENDERKING:  Thank you very much, Nadia.  We have seen a strong commitment by
the parties to uphold the terms of the truce, and I think the fact that this is
now our second extension of the truce – again, bringing us to a total of six
months of calm in Yemen – the fact that the parties have taken tough decisions
to do that I think gives me a sense of confidence.  I’m very confident in the
U.S. commitment.  I think there’s extraordinary commitment from the President on
down to see this conflict not just stay at the level of a truce, but to build
toward the kind of political process that you were referring to.  And I think
that’s woven into the UN documents that are being circulated, the framework
agreement, and I see also the fact that a number of parties such as the Iranians
and the Saudis, who are generally on opposite sides of many issues, both welcome
the truce and in the case of the Saudis did a lot of heavy lifting to get
there.  And then, of course, you have the Yemen Government based in Aden at this
point also providing incredible support for this.

So as I see international actors line up and as I see commitments emerging from
Yemeni parties, you will have seen that the Omanis traveled to Sana’a this past
weekend, and in fact those crucial meetings that took place in Sana’a I think
were essential to getting us to the truce at the last moment.

So all of this does give me confidence.  I’m not going to say I’m overconfident
because I think what needs to happen going forward is not just maintaining, but
really building and expanding, and building and expanding on the terms that have
been agreed to, but we’re also going to be getting into some very difficult
issues like salary payments that have – that have stymied the parties up to this
point.  But we’re already, in terms of our sprint to October 2nd, looking at
ways that we can support that effort, which is being led by the UN.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  Our next question is one of our
pre-submitted questions from our journalist friends over on the Arabic line, and
it’s from Mr. Ahmed Al Balushi from the Oman News Agency.  And Ahmed asks:
“Special Envoy Lenderking, how does the U.S. administration view the Omani
Government’s continuous efforts on the Yemen file, and is Muscat or could Muscat
be the right venue for the conflicting parties to meet and discuss means of
reaching a permanent truce that might lead toward a comprehensive solution?”

Over to you, sir.

MR LENDERKING:  Well, thank you very much.  As I mentioned, Oman has played a –
is playing a very important role, and I point again to their visit to Sana’a
this past weekend, which I think was a pivotal set of engagements with the
Houthi leadership.  We of course were in very close touch with the Omanis
preparing for the visit and there as well, and I think that there’s great, great
openness among the Omani leadership in working closely with the United States on
a resolution.

So again, when we look at elements that give us confidence, the regional support
particularly from the neighboring countries is significant.  If you go back to
the President’s visit to Jeddah, convening with the GCC+3 countries, having
Yemen play a prominent role in those discussions, having the strong endorsement
of the Saudi leadership for the truce – you see very, very significant alignment
of countries in the region to see this conflict brought to an end, building on
the truce and the various elements that we have discussed.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  Our next question goes back to the live
queue and it’s from Michel Ghandour from MBN-Alhurra.  Operator, please open the
line.

OPERATOR:  Michel’s line is open.  Please go ahead.

QUESTION:  Yes, thank you for doing this.  I have a couple questions.  Tim, did
the Saudi-Iran talks help in renewing the truce?  And to what extent the
potential State Department-approved foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia and
UAE will allow them to protect themselves from the Houthis and Iran without any
American help?  And you were at the table with President Biden and Saudi crown
prince during the visit.  How did you feel about OPEC’s announcement yesterday
that they will increase oil production in September by another 100,000 barrels a
day?  Thank you.

MR LENDERKING:  I’m going to let – thank you, Michel.  I’m going to let my
friend Amos Hochstein take the last one.  I think what I appreciated about being
at the table with the President and the Saudi crown prince was the very serious
engagement on a host of issues, which really demonstrated the breadth and the
importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.  And I’m glad to see that energy was
discussed, but obviously near and dear to my heart is Yemen, and the fact that
these two leaders were able to talk about Yemen and agree on a way forward in a
very significant way.

I’d like to – we’re very much encouraging the Saudis to continue their talks
with Iran, and we follow those engagements very closely.  Iran has played
generally a negative role in Yemen.  We’re concerned about continued smuggling
that could take place, smuggling of lethal goods.  But I’m also buoyed by the
fact that the Iranians have welcome the truce, and they did so yesterday as well
for this second extension of the truce.  What we need to see is Iranian actions
mirroring or supporting those words.  Because I think if we can bring Iran into
the regional alignment that is supporting Yemen, as I have discussed, then we
have even greater potential, I think, to see progress.

With regard to the arms sales, the U.S. is committed to advancing the security
of our Gulf partners against any of the external threats that they face.  We
want to support the defense of our partners’ territory, their citizens, but also
the thousands and the tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who live in the Gulf
region.  And we’re supporting – continuing to support decades of U.S.
partnership to help strengthen these countries’ defenses.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  We have quite a few callers on the live line
who have questions.  We have quite a few pre-submitted ones.  We’ll get through
as many as we can.

Our next question is a pre-submitted question from Nada Al-Taher from the UAE’s
The National, and she asks:  “Sir, is there a specific mechanism for the
reopening of the road to Taiz and payment to public service employees?  And what
in your estimation would be the result, or would be the result in two months, if
there has been no progress on these two files?”

Over to you, sir.

MR LENDERKING:  Yeah, thank you.  I know that the UN is working hard on both of
these issues.  It’s a UN-led process and we are standing very, very closely side
by side with the UN effort here, as are other countries.  And obviously, the
issue of Taiz road, as you saw flagged in our statements, remains an urgent
priority both as a humanitarian concern, but also in terms of one of the
elements of the truce that has been called for – the original truce – but the
terms have not been met to the extent that we all need to see.

So going forward there over the course of the next two months, there absolutely
must be progress made.  We – and by progress, we appreciate the fact that
meetings have taken place between the parties, difficult meetings to discuss
issues like Taiz road, but also military issues.  That’s all for the good, but
we need to see these roads opened.  We’re in regular contact with NGOs and other
individuals on the ground who are acutely aware of the humanitarian prerogatives
and that exist in that sieged population.  The UN Security Council statement
which is just coming out now welcoming the truce also highlights the importance
of Taiz.

So no one is going to be able to escape, I think, making progress and engaging
seriously on this issue.  Similarly, both sides want and it’s an imperative for
the United States to pay – to see that civil servants who are working literally
for Yemen, regardless of where they live, regardless of whose territory they
live, that they need to be paid.  And there needs to be a mechanism devised that
brings – that finds the common space between both the government and the
Houthis’ desire to see this done.  I’m confident that there’s a way to do that. 
This is a priority for the next two months and the U.S. will be fully engaged on
this issue.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  Our next question is from the live queue and
it’s to Mr. Stephen Snyder from The World, PRI.  Operator, please open the line.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Stephen, please go ahead.

QUESTION:  Thanks.  Mr. Lenderking, so glad that you’re doing this.  I wanted to
ask more about the salaries and to see what else there is to know about
payments.  How many employees are we talking about?  Will their payments be
retroactive?  And the big one:  Where will the money come from?

MR LENDERKING:  Yeah, no, it’s a very important question.  All I can say at this
particular juncture is that all of these particular details that you’re asking
for are being examined, because in order to find a mechanism that works to pay
salaries, there has to be an account, there has to be oversight of that account,
there has to be revenue sources that allow that account to be filled and
mechanisms to pay the civil servants.

So I would highlight among all the things I’ve been talking about that this is
among the top priorities for the period ahead, and we’ll be very much involved I
think in supporting ideas that the UN can put forward quickly.  I do think time
is of the essence here to put forward a pragmatic and realistic concept.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  Our next question is a pre-submitted
question from Mr. Mohammed Mahdi from the Al-Mayadeen Network, and he asks, sir,
if you can expand upon what you said in your opening remarks about the Safer
tanker and provide more details and give the latest status of what’s going on
with the Safer tanker.  Thank you.  Over.

MR LENDERKING:  Well, thank you very much.  I mean, this is also an urgent piece
of what we’re – I think what the international community is trying to see,
again, to prevent spillage or leakage of 1.1 million barrels of oil into the Red
Sea at the most inopportune time.  There are already food shortages due to the –
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  It’s causing hardship to Yemen, ripple effects
all around the world.  We can’t afford further obstacles to global commerce, the
ability to move supplies, and that’s particularly true in the Yemen case,
although as we’ve emphasized, too, all of the donors and potential private
sector companies whom we’ve spoken to, the Safer isn’t just a Yemen problem;
it’s a regional problem, it’s an international commerce problem, and it’s an
environmental issue as well.

So we look – we’re looking for private sector and environmental group support
for the fundraising and the pledging that is going forward.  The UN, I think, is
doing a very good job of receiving these pledges, but we’re still short.  The
target is 80 million.  We’re short of that amount, but we are closing that
amount with some additional pledges that have been made in the last several days
by several other countries.  So we are making a real push here to close the gap
in the immediate future so that by the time October comes around, the seas start
to get rough – rougher in the Red Sea, that we will have an operation underway
to protect that oil and prevent a spillage.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  Our next question comes from the live queue,
and it goes to Ms. Hiba Nasr from Asharq News.  Operator, please open the line.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Hiba, your line is open.

QUESTION:  Hi, Tim.  Thanks for doing this.  The parties are back to Vienna for
the next talks, but there is little optimism that this could lead anywhere.  Do
you have any concern that any collapse in the Iran talks would affect the truce?

MR LENDERKING:  Well, again – hello, Hiba – I think we are – I have talked a
little bit about Iran’s role and our expectation that Iranian actions would
match its welcoming of the truce, and I think that would be very well received
by the United States.  We wish good work going forward in these talks in
Vienna.  But no matter what happens with the JCPOA in these talks, we will
continue to work closely with our allies and regional partners to address
threats that are posed by Iran and its proxies to the region.

I do think just to sum up that there is a substantial amount of momentum in
Yemen for a broader peace effort, and we cannot allow any country or any
situation I think to get in the way of what is really a crescendo of
international support in full coordination with the UN and in conjunction with
this truce to really help Yemen turn the corner towards peace.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  We have time for a few more questions.  Our
next question is a pre-submitted question from one of our colleagues over on the
Arabic line, and it comes from Zeyad Al-Jaberi from Suhayl TV.  And he asks,
“Sir, the truce was extended for two months instead of three months as was done
previously, and instead of six months as was expected.  What does this mean for
the chances of reaching a permanent truce or a permanent solution?”

Over to you, sir.

MR LENDERKING:  Well, I mean, the expanded truce agreement that we want to see
includes steps that require significant technical preparation and negotiations,
and that harkens back to Stephen’s question about the salary payments.  And that
is going to be a key, key element going forward: establishing a transparent
mechanism for civil servant salary payments.

At the same time, I really think the parties have made some important strides
going forward, and if you look at – if you ask the Yemeni people, I think you’d
find that there’s strong support in – strong popular support inside Yemen for
the truce.  Yemenis are the major beneficiaries.  I mentioned the flights, but
the fact that medical patients can now get out of Yemen to destinations, which
we were unable to do.  And again, I think we need to see these elements
expanded.  We need to see more oil on the market coming through Hodeidah Port. 
Can’t afford an oil spill in any way that would obstruct that from the Safer
tanker.

So we’re looking in this coming period to expand what we’ve already – what we’ve
already seen happening.  In that case, a lot of coordination with regional
countries who have a role to play here, and that’s what we’re – that’s what
we’re prioritizing going forward.  And again, having Iran play a stabilizing
role would be extremely welcome in the Yemen context.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you, sir.  We have time I think for one last question. 
We’ll go to our live queue to Elizabeth Hagedorn from Al Monitor.  Operator,
please open the line.

OPERATOR:  Thank you.  Elizabeth, your line is open.

QUESTION:  Hi, Tim.  In your opening remarks, you said compromise from all sides
was needed to make progress.  Obviously, it’s a season to open up ties, but what
do you need to see specifically from the Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni
Government?  And also, are you asking Egypt to permit additional flights from
Sana’a?

MR LENDERKING:  Yes, hello, Elizabeth.  Yeah.  I mean, on the last point, the
truce does call for flights to Cairo, and we’ve been in contact – regular
contact with the Egyptians.  There has been one flight to Cairo already.  We do
need to see more.  That is a – that’s a key part of the truce, is that there
were to be two flights a week from Sana’a to destinations.  The flights to Oman
are working very well.  We have huge appreciation for the way that the
Jordanians are – have responded to this and are working with all the necessary
parties on the aviation side to ensure that these flights are secure, and we
look forward to that.  We will continue to work with the Egyptians on this
issue.

The Saudi-led coalition has responsibilities under the truce as well to maintain
the de-escalation that they have performed over the last four or five months,
can be very supportive, I think, of the Yemen Government.  It’s in our interests
that the Presidential Leadership Council solidify itself, continue to unify its
ranks.  But what we’ve seen particularly since the President’s visit and in
Jeddah as well is a very strong Saudi commitment and flexibility and with regard
to implementing the terms of the truce.

MODERATOR:  Great, thank you so much.  Now, Special Envoy Lenderking, if you
have any closing remarks, I’ll turn it back over to you.

MR LENDERKING:  Well, thank you all very much.  I hope I’ve answered your
questions.  I think the key point from our perspective is that we’re on a short
timeline here.  We understand the urgency.  But I think as you’ve seen from the
role we’ve been playing and from the statements from the President, we’re
absolutely committed to Yemen’s brighter future and we think this is the moment
in which to carry the truce forward and expand on the terms as I’ve outlined. 
And I thank you very much for your continued interest in this topic and I look
forward to continuing this dialogue with all of you.

MODERATOR:  Great.  That concludes today’s call.  I would like to thank U.S.
Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking for joining us and thank all of our
callers for participating.  If you have any questions about today’s call, you
can contact the Dubai Regional Media Hub at DubaiMediaHub@state.gov. 
Information on how to access the English recording of this call will be provided
by AT&T shortly.  Thank you and have a great day.

# # # #

Tags

Conflicts Dubai Regional Media Hub Egypt Foreign Assistance International
Security Jordan Oman Peace Peacebuilding Peacekeeping Qatar Refugee and
Humanitarian Assistance Refugees Regional Issues Saudi Arabia United Arab
Emirates Yemen


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