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Yemen’s ‘London Meeting’ Tackles Ending War | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Armed Yemeni Houthis stand next to a trench in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. (AFP)


Riyadh, Jeddah – Representatives of the Yemen quartet, as well as the Sultanate of Oman, met on Monday in the British capital, London, to discuss prospects of a political settlement to end the war in the country.

A British diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting held at the level of ambassadors, in the presence of UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad, had discussed UN efforts to end the war and the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

The meeting included Saudi Arabia, the United States, the UAE, the United Kingdom and Oman.

The diplomat said participants in the “London meeting” tackled issues in detail, ahead of handing their conclusions to ministers, who are expected to meet later.

“The main issues discussed during Monday’s meeting were the UN efforts related to the Yemeni peace process. Ambassadors also discussed the humanitarian conditions in Yemen and means to help improve them,” the diplomat said.

He added that the UN is working to halt fighting in Yemen, adding that ambassadors would “certainly” discuss the issue during their current meetings.

The Yemeni president’s advisor, Abdulaziz Al-Meflahi, confirmed that military operations against rebels would not stop before Houthis respected the international resolutions and abided by the peace process.

He revealed in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that a ceasefire proposal was earlier rejected in light of the insistence of rebels to rebuff all peaceful solutions to the Yemeni crisis.

In a related development, Yemeni Minister of Interior Hussein Arab said his country did not receive any statement from Iran regarding an agreement to release their so-called “experts.”

Earlier, the Yemeni army and the Popular Resistance forces had arrested Iranian military experts who had entered Yemeni territory with forged identification papers.

“Iran is involved in supporting terrorist groups and militias operating in Yemen. Those groups are led by a Houthi-linked network in the capital Sana’a,” Arab told Asharq Al-Awsat.