This came during the press conference held in Riyadh on Monday, with the participation of Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, who is also the Supervisor of the Saudi Development Reconstruction Program for Yemen, Mohammad bin Saeed Al Jaber, and the Official Spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki. In response to a question about the history of the idea, Prince Faisal said that the Kingdom's initiative to end the Yemeni crisis and reach a comprehensive political solution is currently valid but pending the acceptance by the Houthi militia of the proposal to cease fire, noting that the Kingdom and the Coalition have previously submitted some political solutions including ceasefire with the aim to spare the bloodshed of Yemenis, preserve the country, offer an opportunity for a political solution and tackle the Yemeni crisis but the response of the Houthis was negative. Following the announcement of the initiative, the Foreign Minister disclosed that the Kingdom has notified the Yemeni government, all Coalition member states, the UN envoy, and the United States of America of its plan to announce the initiative, looking forward to the acceptance of the Yemeni legitimate government of this initiative as well as a positive response from the Houthi militias. Asked about the position of the United States towards the Yemeni crisis, the Minister said that "we expect that the United States of America and all our partners in the international community will support the initiative and work for its success", in case the Houthis refrained from cooperation to find the suitable ways to mount enough pressure on them to accept the initiative and cease fire, noting that the US administration has vowed its commitment to defend the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards such threats. On the extent of rapprochement with Iran in the region, he ruled out such expectation, citing the Iranian regime behavior to destabilize the region through proceeding with its nuclear program that would conduce to develop its nuclear weapons and provide the Houthis with weapons. For his part, Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Malki, expressed hope to see the initiative accepted, wisdom prevailing, a political solution to the conflict reached and the interests of the Yemeni people topping all priorities. On whether there is a plan to pump money in the Yemeni Central Bank, Ambassador Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber said that the Kingdom has adopted decades-long role to support the Yemeni Central Bank, even before the Houthi militia coup and their capture of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, citing that the Kingdom has deposited $1 billion, $3 billion worth of oil derivatives and more than $3 billion to support the country's infrastructure and basic services, all this through only two years. Since the beginning of the crisis, "the Kingdom has also provided Yemen with more than $17 billion, including a deposit worth $2.2 billion to the Yemeni Central Bank, participated in humanitarian response conferences and established King Salman Humanitarian Aid Center and Relief (KSrelief) in support for the relief and humanitarian work in collaboration with other organizations," he said, citing the efforts of the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen in the field of infrastructure and basic services, confirming the continuation of supporting the Yemeni government and finding out the economic requirements and their remedies. Brig. Gen. Al-Malki reaffirmed the support of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen for the Yemeni national army and standing by the side of the Yemeni people and protecting them against violations. Asked to comment on the expectation of no-compliance of the Houthi militia with the initiative, Brig. Gen. Al-Malki said that the Coalition is dealing with the launch of drones and ballistic missiles and other violations with utmost prudence, as the prudence will have full right to protect civilians, the Kingdom's capabilities, the Yemeni people, noting that the Kingdom's dealing with the Houthi violations with wisdom is considered braveness. On the initiative to open Sanaa International Airport, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen explained that the initiative is a continuation of the Kingdom's efforts in support of peace to achieve Yemen's stability and its people's prosperity, noting that the initiative of opening the airport is comprehensive and that once the Yemeni government and the Houthi militias accept it, the UN envoy will get involved with the parties to set the necessary arrangements and mechanism whether for the ceasefire or the airport opening process and proceed with Stockholm agreement, according to the agreed upon arrangements. Regarding Hodeidah port revenues, particularly who is in charge and who are the beneficiaries, Ambassador Al Jaber said that Stockholm agreement on Hodeidah includes a number of steps, citing the port's revenues, the contract supervised by the UN envoy between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militias regarding the customs and tax revenues whereas the two parties have agreed to allow ships to enter without restrictions in a short time. He said as much as 5 billion Yemeni Riyal was deposited in the Hodeidah branch of the Yemeni Central bank. However, the Houthis have withdrawn the money and spent it on their military activities. --SPA 01:48 LOCAL TIME 22:48 GMT 0004 www.spa.gov.sa/w1528998