UAE talks up diplomacy as Congress curtails US involvement in Yemen war
Emirati officials are taking to Capitol Hill to say they’re giving the UN-brokered peace in Yemen a shot, but their patience is running out.
Top Emirati officials are talking up their diplomatic efforts in Yemen as the United Nations looks to cut a peace deal and Congress adds new restrictions on US support for the Gulf-led war.
In a letter sent to congressional leaders in June and reviewed by Al-Monitor, UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef al-Otaiba wrote that the Saudi-led Arab force fighting in Yemen is giving the Iran-backed Houthi rebels “the greatest possible opportunity” for a peaceful withdrawal from the strategic port of Hodeidah.
Otaiba also emphasized that the Saudi-led coalition had stockpiled enough food to feed 6 million Yemenis for a month if the port, which is the thoroughfare for three-quarters of humanitarian aid entering the country, is disabled. The letter was sent to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and 15 other offices, including a handful of House Democrats who have criticized US refueling of Saudi and Emirati jets in the air war against the Houthis.
US lawmakers remain skeptical.
