US Ambassador to Yemen Matthew H. Tueller expressed on Sunday Washington’s determination to play a bigger leadership role in resolving the Yemeni crisis.

In a 40-minute phone conference, Tueller said that Houthi armed militias leading a coup are the chief obstacle up against finding a true settlement for the war-torn country.

The diplomat also said that it is not useful to attack the United Nations and its special envoy for the simple sake of criticizing the United Nations.

He made a remark on the US taking note of the insurgency’s lack of cooperation with the international body, saying that such hindrance is unacceptable.

“We strongly support the efforts of the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and welcomed the legitimate Yemeni government’s positive response to the recent UN plan for Hodeidah,” said Tueller.

Even more, the ambassador stressed Saudi Arabia’s right to obtain military armament to defend itself “in an area known for the spread of violence,” stressing the Washington’s strong commitment to Saudi security.

It is a historic relationship, and the new US administration continues to uphold these commitments.
Saudi Arabia has suffered repeated cross-border transgressions by Yemeni putschist militias.

Tueller described the Yemeni government’s response to a new UN proposal as a positive sign.

Armed loyalists backing the ousted president Ali Abdullah – who are partaking in the Houthi-led coup- have shown positive signals in terms of willingness to interact with the envoy’s proposals, said Tueller.

On the other hand, Iran-aligned Houthis publicly rejected some pointers to the Hodeidah plan.

It is not surprising that there are differences between the parties when they go to negotiations, Tueller said in a remark bout Houthi-Saleh disputes and lack of unanimity when attending talks together.

“So we want to bring together the parties, bring their views closer and get rid of any differences between them by finding common ground to discuss the matter,” said Tueller.

What is important is that the parties sit down to discuss the points of disagreement between them, he added.

The US Embassy team continues to provide important and humanitarian support to Yemen. In over two years, the US has provided Yemen with more than $ 750 million that went to Yemen’s food, medicine and humanitarian projects.