“Iraq is ready to mediate to be a part of the solution of the problems in the region and the situation in Yemen,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told his Yemeni counterpart Ahmed bin Mubarak in Baghdad.
The Yemen war between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels has been described by the United Nations as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, a conflict that has seen the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people since the rebels seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014.
The country’s population also suffer from devastating levels of malnutrition.
“Iraq supports any political effort that pushes for the stability of the situation in Yemen,” Hussein said in the press conference with Mubarak, pointing out Baghdad’s good relations with warring sides and saying it could be used to mediate the conflict.
While a UN-brokered truce between the country’s fighting forces expired in October, an unofficial truce has largely presided over the country.
Iraq has played a key role in negotiations regarding Yemen, by mediating and hosting four rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad. The talks eventually led to a Chinese-brokered deal which saw Tehran and Riyadh normalize ties in Beijing in March.
During the press conference, Mubarak said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Iraq and Yemen that aims to work towards “achieving the requirements of peace in Yemen.”
Over 80 percent of Yemen’s population is dependent on aid, according to the UN.
