By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Yemeni Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi on Monday in New York and discussed the need to extend a U.N.-mediated truce by Oct. 2, the State Department said.
Yemen has been split by a seven-year-old war pitting a fractious coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Iran-aligned Houthi group. The Houthis largely hold the north and the internationally recognized government is based in the south.
A U.N.-mediated truce between the coalition and the Houthis has largely held since April. The United Nations is making efforts to extend and expand the truce deal between the coalition and the Houthis that expires in early October.
The State Department said the truce has brought "much needed calm and hope while improving the lives of millions of Yemenis across the country."
"The Secretary and President Al-Alimi affirmed their support for additional steps under the truce, including opening roads in Taiz and other areas, expanding commercial flights from Sana’a airport, and ensuring salary payments to tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, and other civil servants who have for years worked without pay," the State Department said.
Blinken also affirmed U.S. support for the council, the State Department said in a statement after the meeting.
Last week, sources told Reuters that rifts within Yemen's new presidential council were delaying approval of reforms needed to unlock $3 billion in financial aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that would help ease a severe foreign exchange crunch.