Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Saudi – British – American Initiative to End the War in Yemen Before Ramadan | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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The head of the government delegation to the Yemen peace consultations that are currently being held in Kuwait confirmed that the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the United States and Britain have been recently holding continuous meetings with the communication and coordination committee that was formed at the consultations. The aim of these meetings is to put an end to the ongoing war in Yemen before the holy month of Ramadan begins.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Yemen Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government delegation has received promises from the major powers sponsoring the peace process in Yemen that the war will be stopped on all fronts and that prisoners will be released in the next few days.

Al-Mekhlafi explained that the government delegation has held consecutive sessions with UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to discuss the withdrawal of the rebels from the cities. However, this matter has not yet been directly discussed with the Houthi- Saleh delegation.

Al-Mekhlafi continued by saying that the two sides discussed many details such as withdrawal, the formation of the security- military committee that will oversee this withdrawal and the handing over of arms, and “therefore we are relying on Ould Cheikh to specify a time frame” for these consultations so that they end before the month of Ramadan.

According to Al-Mekhlafi, Ould Cheikh finished his direct meetings with the government delegation during the last few days and will not meet them on Saturday and Sunday. He added that “The UN envoy will devote his endeavours during the two days to meet the rebels and perhaps progress will be made. Pressure will be put on the rebel delegation, especially considering that the government delegation made lots of progress regarding many points”.

About his meeting with representatives of the 18 nations that are sponsoring the consultations, Al-Mekhlafi said “all ministers of the delegations praise the government’s position, its flexibility and its dealings. They emphasised their commitment to resolution 2216 and prioritised the handing over of arms and the withdrawal. This is the international community’s unified position and it is aware of the other party’s obstinacy.”

In the context of Arab and international positions that support the Yemen peace consultations, the Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Khalid Sulaiman Al-Jarallah said that Yemenis have reached a stage at the consultations where details specific to differences are being discussed, and that this will help in reaching a comprehensive agreement.

On his part, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with special responsibility for the Middle East and North Africa Tobias Ellwood praised the role of Kuwait in hosting the Yemeni consultations and providing a suitable atmosphere to find a political way out of the crisis in a similar statement.