In late October, Mr. Mattis and Mr. Pompeo had called for a cease-fire in Yemen, and on Thursday, talks that were brokered by the United Nations in Sweden appeared to reach a tentative agreement to ease the hostilities.
The agreement calls for an exchange of up to 15,000 prisoners, the creation of a humanitarian corridor into the city of Taiz, and the withdrawal of troops from Hudaydah. That city, on the Red Sea, is a key entry point to Yemen for essential products like food and medicine.
Peace talks are expected to continue in January to close what has become a humanitarian crisis in one of the poorest nations on Earth.
“The agreements today mean a lot, not only for the Yemeni people but for humanity if this can be a starting point for peace and for ending the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, said at the close of the talks on Thursday.
Mr. Menendez and Mr. Graham said on Wednesday that they, and other senators, would introduce legislation early next year to impose even broader penalties against Saudi Arabia, including suspending weapons sales and cementing a ban on American refueling of Saudi coalition aircraft in Yemen.
Additionally, their plan would impose economic sanctions against people who are found responsible for Mr. Khashoggi’s death, who blocked humanitarian relief in Yemen or who supported the Houthi rebels.
If it is approved by the Senate on Thursday, the effort to limit American war powers is likely to be a symbolic, if stinging, slap at the Trump administration. It is not expected to be considered by the Republican-controlled House this year.
That will change, however, when Democrats take over the House in 2019, putting more pressure on the White House to assuage Republicans and keep them from damaging ties with Saudi Arabia.
from Just News Update https://ift.tt/2Ekg63a
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