Meet Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, US National Security Adviser Discusses Yemen's Peace Efforts

JAKARTA - United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to the kingdom on Sunday, reviewing what the White House called "significant progress" in Yemen's peace efforts.

On a trip aimed at strengthening the often strained relationship with Riyadh, Sullivan also held talks with the Crown Prince, UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan and India's national security adviser Ajit Doval "to advance their common vision of a safer and more prosperous Middle Eastern region, interconnected with India and the world," the White House said.

Sullivan's meeting came after a period in which US-Saudi relations were strained due to a reduction in oil production by Saudi Arabia-led OPEC+, as well as differences over the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

"He reviewed significant progress in talks to consolidate the 15-month ceasefire in Yemen and welcomed the efforts led by the United Nations to end the war, as well as discuss various other issues," the White House said in a statement.

Furthermore, Sullivan also thanked the Crown Prince for Saudi Arabia's support for the citizens of Uncle Sam's country during the evacuation from Sudan, the statement added.

While citing Al Arabiya from the SPA, several senior US officials attended the meeting, such as US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney, Coordinator of the National Security Council for the Middle East Brett McGurk and senior US adviser to energy security Amos Hochstein.

Previously, the US Special Envoy for the Lending Team also traveled to Oman and Saudi Arabia earlier this month to seek to advance Yemen's peace efforts, the US State Department said.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, after Iran's allied Houthi toppled the government from the capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia's delegation, which is seeking a permanent ceasefire agreement to end military involvement in the war, ended peace talks in mid-April in Sanaa with the Houthis, whose main negotiators said the talks had reached progress and further discussions would be held.

Yemen's conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions starving, is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.