NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday welcomed the new Saudi peace initiative designed to end the war in Yemen and restart the political process in the country. In a statement issued through his deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, Guterres thanked the Kingdom for its support of UN peace efforts. “The secretary-general welcomes all steps aimed at bringing the parties closer to a resolution in line with the efforts by his special envoy, Martin Griffiths, to secure a nationwide ceasefire, the re-opening of Sanaa airport, the regular flow of fuel and other commodities into Yemen through Hodeidah port, and move to an inclusive political process to reach a comprehensive negotiated settlement to end the conflict,” Haq said. “As the conflict in Yemen enters its seventh year, Yemenis continue to face a dire humanitarian situation, including the prospect of a large-scale famine, while a significant funding gap remains. “Underlining that the needs of the Yemeni people must be put above any other considerations, the secretary-general calls for fuel ships to be urgently allowed into the port of Hodeidah and for the removal of obstacles to domestic distribution.” The UN chief urged all sides to take this opportunity to pursue peace and work with Griffiths on ways to proceed “in good faith and without preconditions.” He reiterated that “all actors and stakeholders must do their utmost to facilitate an immediate agreement that brings Yemen back to a path toward peace.” The latest Saudi peace initiative was announced in Riyadh on Monday by Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Kingdom’s foreign minister. It calls for a UN-supervised nationwide ceasefire, the reopening of Sanaa airport to civilian air traffic, and the resumption of negotiations to reach a political resolution to the conflict.