US State Department announced Monday that Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking would travel to the Middle East to continue US diplomatic efforts supporting the UN-mediated truce in Yemen.
The State Department website stated that Lenderking was headed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and that his regional tour would include Oman and Jordan.
"Special Envoy Lenderking will continue our efforts to help advance peace," read the statement, adding that his engagements will "focus on expanding, extending, and renewing the current truce agreement that will further the tangible benefits already reaching Yemenis and build towards a more comprehensive, inclusive peace process and permanent ceasefire."
The statement concluded by calling on "all parties to choose peace and recovery over continued war and destruction for the sake of the Yemeni people."
The US envoy headed to the region again when the extension of the Yemeni truce received regional and international support, despite the Houthi violations and the group's leaders' threats to return to the fighting.
The United Nations concluded a two-month ceasefire, starting April 02, and it later managed to extend the agreement till August 02.
The UN envoy aspires to extend for a longer period of up to six months.
The Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen wants to extend the armistice. However, its president, Rashad al-Alimi, and his deputies insist on implementing the rest of the truce provisions, including ending Taiz's blockade and reopening the roads before negotiating any new issues.
