The European Union (EU) said Monday that violence cannot resolve Yemen's prolonged political crisis, stressing the necessity of proceeding with an "orderly and inclusive" political transition in the country in line with the Gulf-brokered initiative, Xinhua reported.
"Violence cannot resolve the issues that confront Yemen. Those who stand in the way of peace must be held accountable and those responsible for violence against peaceful protesters must be brought to justice," said EU foreign ministers in a statement after discussing the situation in Yemen during their meeting in Luxembourg.
"The EU also emphasized the importance of proceeding with an orderly and inclusive political transition in Yemen in line with the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative, to respond to the legitimate interests of all Yemen's people," it said.
"The EU called on the Yemeni leadership to follow through on their commitment to this transition," it reaffirmed.
The Yemeni government has been facing all-round protests since the beginning of this year. The protests called for ousting embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for treatment of injuries he sustained in an attack on his presidential palace earlier this month.
The protests triggered clashes, leaving hundreds of people dead and undermining the economic and security situations, which provided more space for well-armed terrorists to dominate remote cities in the south of the country.
Yemeni Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said the top priority at present is to hold the truce with opposition-backed armed tribesmen and put the security and economy back on track.
The EU foreign ministers also said in the statement that they " support Hadi's commitment to respect the ceasefire process, to demilitarize Yemen's cities and to ensure proper protection for any further peaceful protests and demonstrations."