• – The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned Australians in Yemen to leave immediately and said Australians should not travel to Yemen. A statement on its website read in part, "It is unclear whether the security forces will be able to maintain law and order and there is a risk of open conflict between elements of the security forces and with opposition groups. These events heighten the risk of a spread of violence in Yemen and a breakdown in law and order, not only in Sana'a, but in other major cities and regional areas." • – On 28 January, a statement issued by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry called for escalating unrest in Yemen to be resolved "peacefully and without external interference". • – On 6 March, the Canadian Foreign Affairs and International Trade Department said, "Canadians should leave Yemen as soon as possible, the Department of Foreign Affairs reiterated Sunday, as new political violence swept the Middle Eastern nation." At the
G8 summit in
France, on 26 May, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper said, "I think everybody recognizes that it is time for the president of Yemen to depart and I think that's inevitable and the sooner it happens the better." • – The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs began evacuating Ethiopian nationals from Yemen on 20 June. • – A spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry said on 26 May that Saleh's only option to quell the uprising was to sign the
Gulf Co-operation Council deal. He said the government deplored the ongoing violence and "political impasse". • – A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned Yemeni authorities over the deaths of 52 protesters on 18 March and criticised unspecified "foreign forces" for their role in the crackdown. The comments were delivered the day after the incident. • – The Italian Foreign Ministry suspended the operations of its embassy in Sana'a on 1 June, citing what it perceived to be the growing risk of violence against
European diplomats and embassies in the country amid
street clashes in the city. • – On 26 May, while attending the G8 summit in
Deauville, France, a Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman called the mounting casualties in Yemen "extremely regrettable" and urged Saleh to "follow through on his commitments to peacefully transfer power". • – The Netherlands Embassy in Yemen issued a statement on 9 April condemning the violence and announcing the suspension of aid from the Netherlands through the Yemeni government. The statement also called for "inclusive dialogue" and insisted the government "respect ... all human rights and fundamental freedoms". • – At a 20 April emergency meeting of the
United Nations Security Council, the PRC prevented a resolution condemning violence against Yemeni protesters from being considered. • – On 20 March, the Philippines' Foreign Affairs Secretary
Albert del Rosario visited Sana'a to meet with embassy staff and Yemeni officials to establish a contingency plan for Filipinos living in the country in case of a wider emergency. The Department of Foreign Affairs urged Filipino expatriates in Yemen on 24 March to avoid getting involved in political protests or activity. On 31 May, it began offering free repatriation for Filipinos in Yemen and urged its citizens abroad in the
Arabian state to take advantage of the evacuation programme. • – On 6 April, Qatari Prime Minister
Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani said GCC member states "hope to reach a deal with the Yemeni president to step down". However, the prime minister withdrew Qatar from the GCC's efforts to mediate an end to the crisis in Yemen on 13 May, citing "indecision and delays in the signature of the proposed agreement" and "the intensity of the clashes" throughout Yemen as his reason for doing so. • – In its capacity as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia helped block a resolution condemning the Yemeni government over its response to the crackdown on 20 April. • – The Saudi government was instrumental in orchestrating the GCC peace deal, even offering its capital of
Riyadh as a venue for the official signing ceremony. After Saleh rebuffed the agreement multiple times before being badly injured in a 3 June bombing of the presidential compound, Saudi Arabia invited the president and other top Yemeni officials hurt in the attack to undergo intensive treatment at a hospital in Riyadh. On 17 June,
Agence France-Presse reported a Saudi official said Saleh would not be allowed to return to Yemen. • – UAE Foreign Minister
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan urged Yemen to adopt the GCC deal "as an integrated formula to resolve the Yemeni crisis" during a 23 April meeting with his Yemeni counterpart. When pro-government gunmen briefly besieged the UAE embassy in Sana'a on 22 May, stranding Emirati, GCC, and
Western diplomats inside, he urged the Yemeni government to secure the embassy. • – On 19 February, the
BBC News reported that UK Foreign Secretary
William Hague said he was "deeply concerned" by the "unacceptable violence" used against protesters. On 18 February, the
UK government had announced that in light of the unrest it was considering revoking some arms export licenses stating that "licenses will not be issued when officials judge that there is a risk that the exports may provoke regional or internal conflicts or be used to facilitate internal repression". On 4 June, the UK Foreign Secretary advised any Britons still in Yemen to leave immediately while commercial flights are still in operation, as the
UK Government cannot guarantee evacuation under the circumstances. However, on 6 June it was reported that UK
Royal Navy forces are on standby off the coast of Yemen to assist with any possible evacuation. Prime Minister
David Cameron and US President
Barack Obama urged Saleh to resign in a joint press conference on 25 May. • – On 27 January, US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Philip J. Crowley told reporters that the US government backed the right of Yemenis to "express themselves and assemble freely". The US also later said that it had hopes reform attempts would stave off protests similar to Egypt. On 18 February,
U.S. President Barack Obama said that he was "deeply concerned" by the violence. On the same day,
The Washington Post reported that the United States Embassy in Yemen wrote in a statement that it had seen "a disturbing rise in the number and violence of attacks against Yemeni citizens gathering peacefully to express their views on the current political situation", adding, "We have also seen reports that Government of Yemen officials were present during these attacks", and asked the Yemeni government to "prevent any further attacks on peaceful demonstrations". On 1 March,
The New York Times reported that after cleric
Abdul Majid al-Zindani, a one-time mentor of
Osama bin Laden, publicly called for an Islamic state to replace Saleh, one counterterrorism official in the
Obama administration said Saleh's government was "the best partner we'll have ... and hopefully it will survive". However, on 3 April, the
Times reported that US diplomats had begun quietly pushing for a "negotiated exit" for Saleh and believed he should hand over power to Vice President Hadi pending elections. On 8 April, State Department spokesman
Mark Toner announced the administration's support for the GCC deal, a centerpiece of which was Saleh's timely resignation, saying in a statement, "We strongly encourage all sides to engage in this urgently needed dialogue to reach a solution supported by the Yemeni people. ... To succeed, all parties must participate in a process that addresses the legitimate concerns of the Yemeni people, including their political and economic aspirations." Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton expressed disappointment on 23 May after Saleh backed away from signing the GCC deal for the third time, saying Saleh "is turning his back on his commitments and disregarding the legitimate aspirations of the Yemeni people" and urging him to accept the initiative. Speaking alongside British Prime Minister
David Cameron on 25 May, President Obama said, "We call upon President Saleh to move immediately on his commitment to transfer power."
White House counterterrorism adviser
John O. Brennan held a televised meeting with Saleh in his
Riyadh hospital on 11 July to reiterate the US position that the president should accept the GCC initiative. Relations between the U.S. and the Yemeni government appeared to warm following Saleh's return to
Sana'a and the death of
Anwar al-Awlaki in a U.S. airstrike coordinated with Yemeni authorities, but U.S. State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland continued to articulate her government's position that Saleh should step down. ==Financial markets==