Biden launches new effort to end civil war in Yemen, preventing ‘offensive’ aid to Saudis, naming envoy

The president, speaking at the State Department, also said that US support for offensive operations in Yemen would end, “including the sale of relevant weapons”. He added that the war created “a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe”.

The president also issued sharp warnings about the rapid development of crises in Russia and Myanmar, while pledging to restore US foreign policy to an emphasis on multilateral cooperation and the democratic alliance that he said he had “stunted in recent years of neglect and , I would say, abuse. “

He also sought to boost morale among the State Department’s workforce after years of internal turmoil: “This government will empower you to do your job, not as a target or politicization.”

The president’s actions in Yemen include his recent decision to stop sales of precision-guided ammunition weapons to Riyadh, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, but that will not affect counter-terrorism operations against al Qaeda in the region. .

It was not immediately possible to determine which other military aid would be affected. The U.S. in 2018 suspended aerial refueling of Saudi military aircraft involved in the attack on Yemen. Since then, only a limited amount of intelligence collection and sharing and a small amount of logistical support has continued.

Biden had signaled during his campaign that he would take a different approach to Yemen and the Saudi-led military campaign from that of the Trump administration. Sullivan said the White House consulted senior officials in Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates about its decision.

“We are pursuing a ‘no surprises’ policy when it comes to these types of actions,” said Sullivan, “so that they understand that this is happening and understand our reasoning and justification for it.”

One of Mr. Lenderking’s first tasks will be to encourage parties to the conflict to take steps towards a ceasefire. The belligerents include the Houthi rebel force, which controls much of the country, and a Saudi-led military coalition that supports the internationally recognized government based in the port city of Aden.

Ending the war in Yemen will be an extremely difficult job, said the senior official. “It doesn’t work without the daily attention” that a presidential envoy can give, the official said.

A senior Saudi official said the country was eager to work with Mr. Lenderking “to achieve our joint goal of ending the war in Yemen through a political resolution”.

“Based on the commitment to continue supporting our defense, we will work with the Biden government to ensure that our ability to protect our borders and our cities is not degraded by the decisions that will be announced today,” said the official. “The United States and the Kingdom are aligned with the ultimate goal, which is a political process that puts an end to the conflict in Yemen, ensuring that our borders and regional security are protected.”

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political council, said: “If the US government takes this seriously, I think the aggression will stop,” referring to the Saudi-led coalition offensive.

“The aggression is American in the first place because America is behind the aggression from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates,” he said.

Tens of thousands of civilians died in the conflict, according to the United Nations, which warned in November that Yemen faced an imminent threat of widespread catastrophic famine.

Biden’s announcement signals a more active US approach to ending the war and that Washington is presenting itself as a more neutral party. The Trump administration has also worked to bring peace to Yemen, but has generally supported Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, in the conflict. He sold arms to Riyadh and worked to isolate the Houthis, whom he saw as a proxy force for Iran, the main US opponent in the region.

The Biden administration has already moved away from the Trump administration approach. In addition to ending support for offensive operations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also considering whether to terminate the Trump administration’s designation of Tehran-aligned Houthis as a foreign terrorist group. Another American official familiar with the matter said that former President Donald Trump’s action is likely to be reversed.

Western officials and humanitarian agencies have said the designation of a terrorist, which came into effect the day before Trump stepped down, could hinder peace negotiations and make it more difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the impoverished nation.

Pending a decision on the matter, the Treasury Department last week issued a general license that allows humanitarian groups to continue delivering humanitarian supplies to Houthi-controlled territories without fear of being prosecuted for working with a terrorist group.

The Treasury’s intention is to “ensure that the Yemeni people have the help they need,” said the senior official.

The senior government official said the idea of ​​a full-time American representative in Yemen came from the quiet diplomacy that the Biden government conducted in its early days with UN special envoy Martin Griffiths and others. Lenderking is expected to work closely with Griffiths, as well as the United States Ambassador to Yemen, Christopher Henzel, who serves at the United States Embassy in Riyadh.

“One thing that was lacking in the approach is that we did not have a senior US official with the authority to work full time,” said the senior official.

Mr. Lenderking, who is well known in the region, until recently oversaw Gulf and Yemen affairs in the Middle East State Department’s office. Previously, he was the second employee of the United States Embassy in Saudi Arabia and served twice as a diplomatic adviser in Baghdad.

“He knows the players. He knows everyone involved in the Yemen conflict, ”said the senior official.

However, Lenderking faces what US officials and analysts say is a major challenge to help end the war, which began after the Houthis took control of the capital Sana’a and other areas in 2014, triggering military intervention of the Saudis in 2015 led coalition.

There have been no UN-sponsored peace talks in several years, and the Houthis last year rejected a unilateral truce observed by the Saudis, demanding more concessions.

“The war in Yemen will be a huge challenge for any new envoy. There have been no comprehensive peace talks since 2016, and little political will remains on the part of the Houthis or the Hadi government to come to the table, ”said Elana DeLozier, a Yemen expert at the Washington Institute of Middle East Policy, referring to the internationally recognized government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. “Yemen does not lend itself to rapid learning at work, so having someone who already knows the intricacies of the complex set of conflicts is essential.”

—Gordon Lubold, Stephen Kalin and Saleh al-Batati contributed to this article.

Write to Warren P. Strobel at [email protected]