United Nations turned to change its plan to launch political negotiations in the framework to resolve the Yemeni crisis, as it conditioned the withdrawal of Houthi insurgents from Al Hadida Port instead of the Yemeni capital of Sana. The new plan comes in the framework of the efforts exerted by the international organization to push forward the negotiations suspended since August.
The Yemeni government said that recent comments made by the UN envoy to Yemen on the truce and the upcoming negotiations were “good intentions”, calling on the envoy to convince the rebels to meet their previous commitments.
In his press statement, Yemeni Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Abdul Malik Al-Mekhlafi said that Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s statements “reflect good intentions,” noting however that progress could not be achieved only with intentions.
He underlined in this regard that Houthi insurgents and supporters of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh should accept the peace process and acknowledge the three pillars of negotiations, including the agreed ceasefire.
“We are always seeking to establish peace and to end this war and the people’s sufferings,” Al-Makhlafi told Asharq Al-Awsat during a phone conversation. “We have responded to all endeavors and intentions in this regard,” he added, calling on the international envoy to deploy more efforts to push the rebels to meet their commitments.
On Wednesday, Ould Cheikh Ahmed expressed his hope for a new round of peace talks between Yemen’s warring parties before Ramadan month. The envoy told AFP that currently, things were at the preliminary stage, adding that time was a real constraint and he aimed to finish “all of this before Ramadan, or the end of May.”
The envoy added that negotiations were underway to stave off a feared military attack on the vital Red Sea port of Hodeida, in what he hoped would be the first step towards a ceasefire. He explained that prevention of an attack on Hodeida could allow “a real cessation of hostilities and to go back to the talks.”
In the same context, Oman’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi affirmed his country’s support for Yemen and its legitimate government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The Omani official said during a telephone conversation with Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi that Muscat supports any and all efforts to achieve security and stability in a manner that preserves the territorial integrity of Yemen and preserves its national institutions and the capabilities of the Yemeni people.
For his part, Mekhlafi hailed Oman’s position in support of legitimacy and the right for Yemenis to live in peace, according Yemen’s official news agency. The Yemeni official stressed that his country and its legitimate government are keen to develop bilateral ties with Oman in various fields and to enhance the level of coordination between the two countries.