PLC President: No Blockade on Sana’a Airport, No Tolerance for Sovereignty Violations

  Riyadh

His Excellency President Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council, received on Thursday the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Yemen, Jonathan Peccia.

The meeting reviewed the distinguished bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, as well as regional and international developments of mutual interest.

President Al-Alimi praised the longstanding partnership between Yemen and the United States across various fields. He commended Washington’s pivotal role in supporting Yemen’s security and stability, combating terrorism, and safeguarding regional security and international maritime routes.

The President also expressed appreciation for the international community’s stance during the UN Security Council’s emergency session. He welcomed its clear condemnation of Iran’s violations of the sovereignty of the Republic of Yemen and its holding of the Iranian regime responsible for supporting the Houthi terrorist militias. He said such support constituted a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

President Al-Alimi said the state’s response to the recent developments stemmed from its legal and moral responsibilities as a UN member state committed to protecting its sovereignty while avoiding any expansion of the conflict beyond the primary objective for which the armed forces had acted.

He said this approach demonstrated the difference between a responsible state that abides by international law and militias that do not hesitate to use civilians as human shields in their reckless conflicts. He stressed that restraint did not represent a concession of sovereignty but rather a responsible exercise of it.

The President reaffirmed the government’s commitment to taking all legitimate measures necessary to protect Yemen’s airspace and national sovereignty. He stressed that the Republic of Yemen would not allow any foreign aircraft to enter or land at any Yemeni airport without the approval of the internationally recognized government.

He emphasized that the government had never closed Sana’a International Airport, contrary to the militias’ claims, but had instead offered all lawful alternatives to keep the airport operational through the national carrier, Yemenia Airways. He said the Houthi militias had rejected those proposals because they sought to use the airport as a tool to impose a fait accompli and serve their leaders and their families rather than all Yemenis without discrimination.

President Al-Alimi said the Houthi militias’ conduct over recent years had revealed a consistent pattern of evading the obligations of peace and the aspirations of the Yemeni people for security, stability and a dignified life. He said the militias had done so by provoking external confrontations and attempting to divert attention from the core of the Yemeni issue.

His Excellency added that this approach, together with the militias’ crisis-driven rhetoric, had evolved beyond avoiding national obligations into a permanent means of blackmailing the regional and international communities, manufacturing successive crises to buy time and impose new fait accompli by force.

The President stressed that such attempts would neither obscure the true nature of the conflict nor alter the fact that peace begins with ending the coup, complying with the will of the Yemeni people, and adhering to the nationally, regionally and internationally agreed references for a political settlement.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Yahya Al-Shuaibi, Director of the Office of the Presidency.