SANAA (Dispatches) –The Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah movement said on Monday that they are ready to declare ceasefire with the Saudi-led coalition and peaceful settlement of the crisis, the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee said in a statement, obtained by Sputnik.
"We declare our initiative to call on the official Yemeni authorities to stop launching rockets and drones against the aggressor states of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their Yemeni allies, in order to deprive them of any excuses to continue the aggression or blockade, [we] are ready to freeze and stop military operations on all fronts and come to a fair peace," the statement read.
The group also said it was ready for a broader ceasefire if "the Saudi-led coalition wants peace," according to Reuters.
"[The decision] came to support the UN envoy, to show good faith and support the peace efforts," the statement said.
Griffiths is trying to reconvene conflict resolution talks in Sweden.
Those involved in the conflict have given "firm assurances" that they were committed to attending the talks "to be convened shortly,” he was quoted by the agency as telling the UN Security Council on Friday.
Yemen has been in turmoil since 2015 when former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi stepped down and fled to Riyadh.
The Houthis took over state affairs to fill the void. The Saudi-led coalition, however, invaded the country to bring back the former Riyadh-allied officials.
Thousands have been killed in the invasion which has also pushed Yemen to the edge of famine.
The two sides began holding several rounds of UN-sponsored talks in Switzerland after the war began, without hammering out anything beyond prisoner exchange deals.
Then they gathered Kuwait in 2016 with hopes of striking a "power-sharing” deal, but the Saudi-backed side left the venue in protest at the Houthis’ demands.
Last time, Griffith invited the two sides to pick up where they had left in Geneva. The Saudis, however, refused to give permission to an Omani plane” to land in the Yemeni capital Sana’a to take the Houthi delegation to the negotiations.
This time, Griffith has pledged to escort the Houthi delegation from Sana’a if necessary.