UN-brokered Yemen ceasefire talks collapse as Houthi delegation walks out of Geneva

GENEVA — United Nations-brokered ceasefire negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement collapsed on Wednesday after the Houthi delegation abruptly walked out of the Palais des Nations, ending three weeks of talks aimed at securing a permanent end to Yemen's decade-long war.

The breakdown occurred at 10:42 a.m. local time during a morning plenary session, when Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam led his 14-member delegation out of the room following disagreements over the future administration of Hodeidah port — through which roughly 70 percent of Yemen's food imports pass — and the timeline for a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,400 Houthi-affiliated detainees and an estimated 820 prisoners held by the movement, including Saudi border guards captured in 2023.

"We came to Geneva in good faith, but our Saudi counterparts arrived with preconditions designed to entrench occupation and starve our people," Abdulsalam told reporters outside the venue. "We will not sign an agreement that surrenders Yemeni sovereignty."

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg confirmed the collapse in a statement issued at 12:15 p.m., calling the development "a profound setback for the Yemeni people." Grundberg said his office had presented a 22-page bridging proposal on Tuesday evening that included a 90-day humanitarian pause supervised by a tripartite monitoring committee based in Hodeidah with Omani verification, the reopening of Sanaa International Airport for commercial flights, and a phased withdrawal of foreign forces from contested coastal areas.

"All parties were within reach of a framework that could have ended this war," Grundberg said at a press briefing following the walkout. "I urge both delegations to return to the table without preconditions." He confirmed that intra-Yemeni talks previously scheduled to begin in Muscat on May 12 have been postponed indefinitely.

Saudi Arabia's lead negotiator, Ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber, told the Saudi Press Agency that Riyadh remained "committed to a comprehensive political solution" but accused the Houthis of introducing "last-minute demands" regarding central bank operations in Aden and the distribution of oil revenues from fields in Marib and Hadramaut. Al-Jaber confirmed that a previously discussed $2.2 billion Saudi support package for Yemen's central bank had been withdrawn from the table.

The collapse triggered immediate market reactions, with Brent crude rising 2.8 percent to $87.40 per barrel by Wednesday's close in London on fears of renewed attacks on Red Sea shipping. Maersk and CMA CGM, which had been reviewing the resumption of direct routes through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, both indicated they would maintain Cape of Good Hope diversions. The Houthis suspended strikes on commercial vessels in January as part of a confidence-building measure tied to the Geneva process.

Within hours of the walkout, US Central Command announced it was repositioning the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group and associated naval assets in the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The World Food Programme warned that 17 million Yemenis facing acute food insecurity now risk losing access to expanded aid corridors that were contingent on a ceasefire deal.