UN: Extension of Armistice in Yemen is "First Step" towards Broader Peace Agreement

The United Nations (UN) envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, considered the extension of the announced truce for two months in Yemen, "a first step on the path to reaching a broader peace agreement."

In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Swedish diplomat said that the armistice "gave the people an unprecedented humanitarian respite in the history of the conflict, and from this point of view gives us room to engage in a political settlement."

In an interview with him on the sidelines of the "Yemen International Forum" in Stockholm, Grundberg said that "the armistice allowed us to take steps to restore normal life", in part to the Yemeni people.

The parties to the conflict in Yemen had agreed, at the beginning of this month, to extend the truce announced last April, for an additional two months.

The truce allowed the resumption of commercial flights from Sanaa International Airport, which is open only to aid flights since 2016, to Amman and Cairo.