British Prime Minister Theresa May has implored Saudi leaders to ease a blockade on Yemen to "avert a humanitarian catastrophe", her office said Thursday, echoing urgent appeals from the United Nations.
May met both King Salman and powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a brief visit to Riyadh late on Wednesday, with a worsening crisis in Yemen topping her agenda.May had promised to raise concerns over Yemen where a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia has only partially lifted a crippling aid blockade.
"The prime minister made clear that the flow of commercial supplies... Must be resumed if we are to avert a humanitarian catastrophe," May's office said."They agreed that steps needed to be taken as a matter of urgency to address this."
Saudi Arabia is Britain's largest trading partner in the Middle East, and London has signed off on more than £3.3 billion (USD 4.4 billion/3.7 billion euros) worth of arms sales to Riyadh since March 2015.