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U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Seeks to Meet President Hadi, Save Peace Negotiations | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheik Ahmed. UN Photo/Elma Ocik


Cairo – United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has requested to meet with Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in an attempt to save peace negotiations in the war-torn country, according to well-informed sources.

Yassin Makawi, the advisor of the Yemeni president, told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper on Monday that Ould Cheikh Ahmed had asked to meet with Hadi, in the wake of the latter’s threats to boycott the ongoing peace talks in Kuwait if the United Nations keeps insisting on a roadmap for the formation of a unity government.

Makawi said that the request to meet with the Yemeni president fell within efforts to correct gaps in the roadmap set by Ould Cheikh Ahmed towards a solution to the Yemeni conflict.

In remarks on Sunday, Hadi said that he would not return to peace talks in Kuwait “if the United Nations tries to impose the latest proposal” by Ould Cheikh Ahmed, adding that Houthis were attempting to “legalize” their coup d’état through the Kuwait talks.

Makawi, who is also a member of the Yemeni governmental delegation to Kuwait Talks, said that the U.N. envoy to Yemen put his roadmap on the negotiations table before it was discussed and approved by the governmental delegation.

He also noted that the Yemeni government has severely criticized the U.N. special envoy for failing to abide by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216.

Makawi stressed the need for Ould Cheikh Ahmed to set up mechanisms to implement Resolution 2216, rather than in engaging in compromises that do not fall within the framework of the international resolution.

The Yemeni president’s advisor said that Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s briefing to the U.N. Security Council was not in line with Resolution 2216, adding that his proposal to form a unity government came in accordance with the plans set by the Houthis and disregarded international sanctions imposed on the rebels.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed has put forward a peace roadmap that would see the formation of a unity government and the withdrawal and disarmament of the rebels.

Makawi said that a unity government could not be formed with a group that hampered the country’s political peace process and the Gulf initiative, instigated war and threatened security in other neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday, the Yemeni president conducted a visit to a group of soldiers in the city of Maarib, east of the capital Sanaa, where he pledged that his forces would liberate the Yemeni capital from Houthis “soon.”

In the same context, the Yemeni official told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the country’s national forces and popular resistance have already formed a military siege around Sanaa. He added that Hadi’s visit to Maarib on Sunday has “raised military and moral readiness of the national army and popular resistance in the face of the Iranian-backed rebellion.”

Makawi added that the visit has sent a clear message to the international community and the U.N. special envoy that the legitimate government, which is led by the Yemeni president and backed by Saudi Arabia, was committed to liberating the entire Yemeni territories from Houthi militias and suppressing the Iranian project in the region.

Hadi’s advisor went on to say that the Yemeni legitimate government was aspiring to establish long-lasting peace through the implementation of Resolution 2216 and hailed the efforts deployed by Kuwait in this regard.

Meanwhile, well-informed sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that Houthi rebels were facing a difficult situation in Sanaa in the wake of preparations for the liberation of the capital.

The sources added that the rebels were imposing severe measures on certain groups of citizens for fear that they would contribute internally to the liberation of the capital.

The well-informed sources also said that the Houthi militias were committing armed robberies and removing supporters of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh from governmental and military institutions.