WASHINGTON, March 26 — Responding to news that the warring parties in Yemen agreed to a nationwide ceasefire, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) issued the following joint statement:
“As the coronavirus spreads all over the world, Yemenis may be the planet’s most vulnerable people in the face of this pandemic. They have suffered five years of horrendous warfare and 80 percent of them now rely on humanitarian aid just to survive. A national ceasefire could not come a moment too soon.
“The United States must move urgently to make sure this progress in Yemen cannot be reversed. We must end all U.S. weapons, spare parts, logistical support, and political backing for the Saudi-led war.
“We must also stop the Trump Administration’s outrageous cuts to hundreds of millions of dollars in USAID assistance to Yemen. The only way forward now is by pairing diplomatic support for a political settlement with coordinated efforts to use this ceasefire to get humanitarian assistance to millions of Yemenis on the brink of starvation.
“We are proud to have worked together to build bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate to end this unconstitutional war. Now is the time for President Trump to act. Yemen needs peace, food, medicine, and diplomacy—not U.S. bombs.”