U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Friday with Foreign ministers of the GCC states in Munich to discuss the Yemeni crisis and the deteriorating security situation in the region, according to Al Arabiya. Kerry stressed the need for international intervention in Yemen, during his meeting with the foreign ministers and officials of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. He confirmed that the cooperation of the GCC states was "vital to end the crisis" and urged the Gulf countries to boost their contacts with all the political factions in Yemen. For its part, the U.S. State Department declared its opposition to the Houthis' formation of a "presidential council", after dissolving the parliament and pushing President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to resign. U.S. State Department officials told Al Arabiya that Washington had not yet determined how to handle the "confused and fast-moving" events in Yemen, adding that it was going to hold consultations as to what steps to take next. The United Nations Security Council expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Yemen, threatening to apply sanctions on Yemen unless the warring factions resumed peace talks. President of the UNSC, Ambassador Liu Jieyi called on the Yemini warring factions, especially the Houthis, to respect the GCC and National Conference initiatives to solve the crisis and he called for the "immediate release" of President Hadi and his ministers, who were placed under house arrest when Houthi Rebels seized the capital, Sana'a, January 20.
