Riyadh (Debriefer) - The Yemeni foreign minister on Monday called on the international community to continue pressures on the Houthi group to find an instant solution for Yemen's floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility Safer.
At separate meetings in Riyadh with the Russian ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin, Japanese charge d'affaires Yogi Hatory and the British charge d'affaires Simon Smart, FM Mohamed al-Hadhrami highlighted the dangerous consequences of Safer's standing conditions.
The Houthi group dodges and denies the UN expert team access to assess the FSO, in preparation for discharging and disposing of Safer, under illogical pretexts and conditions, the Yemeni top diplomat said.
Earlier on Monday the official oil minister said the Houthis have intensified military presence on Safer without observing the safety and security rules, worsening the Yemeni FSO facility's condition.
Safer's bad conditions are exacerbating daily, Aus al-Aud added, citing the Houthi denial to allow the UN experts access to the supertanker off Ras Isa port in Hodeida.
The Houthi irresponsible actions, in the form of increasingly sending more militants, will lead the FSO to explode or sink, putting the Red Sea at risk of environmental disaster, he warn.
The Yemeni minister called on the UN and its special envoy for Yemen to practice more pressures on Houthis to allow for UN-supervised safe discharge of the 1.1 million barrels of oil out of Safer.
The UN and Houthis, however, are closing in on a deal that would allow the expert team access to Safer facility, diplomatic sources said earlier on Monday.
Four European countries secured the funding required by the UN expert team expected to assess the FSO and report on future steps needed to maintain or discharge Safer, the sources added in remarks carried by Asharq al-Awsat.
There still a slight point pending between the UN and Houthis, who are very close to reach a deal, the UK ambassador to Yemen said.
Once this point is solved, the UN assessment team could be seen on the ground in 6 to 7 weeks, Michael Aron added.
