Yemeni FM calls for peace talks, ports could be opened

Yemen’s foreign minister called for a return to the negotiating table on Tuesday in a bid to end the war that Saudi-backed government forces are fighting against Houthi fighters in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country. “We need to find the ideal solution, which is a return to the talks table,” Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said. Addressing a UN conference in Geneva, where he sought pledges towards a $3-billion appeal, he said: “We aim to open up access to ports and airports” for humanitarian aid supplies. Speaking at the conference on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for the warring sides in Yemen to reach a political settlement to end a conflict that is in its fourth year. The hostilities have left 22 million people in urgent need of aid.