WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ranking Member and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, on Thursday made the following joint statement on the recently announced ceasefire in Yemen:

“After five years of war, we’re glad to see the first nationwide ceasefire announced by the Saudi-led coalition go into effect. Following this announcement, all parties should move forward with negotiations under the auspices of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to permanently end hostilities and establish a framework for a broad-based political settlement. This critical moment for Yemen is heightened by the risk of COVID-19 spreading throughout the region, as the country’s fragile health care system has been ravaged by years of hostilities. Now more than ever, all parties must stop any attempts to interfere with humanitarian aid operations,” said Murphy and Romney.

Murphy and Romney continued: “We’ve seen too many people killed, terrorist groups empowered, and ties between the Houthis and Iran strengthened. All these run contrary to U.S. national security objectives, and we will support Secretary of State Pompeo as he and his team engage in negotiations to end the conflict.”

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