US, UN, Saudi officials hold talks in Riyadh for extension of truce in Yemen

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Saudi capital Riyadh on Friday witnessed meetings of UN, US, Yemeni, and Saudi officials on extending the cease-fire in Yemen.

Talks were conducted in separate meetings participated by US Special Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking, UN coordinator David Gressly, Yemeni Finance Minister Salem Saleh bin Brik, and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammad Al-Jabir.

On Sunday, the US State Department said Lenderking started an announced tour which includes visits to Oman and Saudi Arabia to support peace in Yemen.

The US State Department Near Eastern Affairs said on Twitter that Lenderking's talks also include discussing efforts on the crisis of the FSO Safer tanker.

The FSO Safer is a floating storage and offloading unit located off the western coast of Yemen, 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the Al-Hudaydah Port, and is used for storing and exporting oil coming from the oilfields in the oil-rich central province of Marib.

In November, UN coordinator Gressly said the unloading of the floating Safer oil tanker will start at the beginning of next year.

Now under the control of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the tanker, which contains more than 1.1  million barrels of oil, has not undergone any maintenance since 2015, causing the corrosion of its hull.

Yemen has been decimated by more than eight years of war since Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country in 2014, including the capital Sanaa.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara.