Talks between Saudi and Houthi officials in Riyadh to put Yemen on the path to peace

The Houthi rebels expressed their hope to "overcome challenges" during talks with Saudi officials in Riyadh related to ending the Yemeni war in a publicly acknowledged visit, marking the first of its kind since the beginning of Saudi military intervention against the Iran-backed group.

Late on Thursday, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it was hosting a Houthi delegation to discuss the peace process in Yemen after nine years of conflict in the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemen has been mired in a power struggle between the Houthi rebels and the government since mid-2014, resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of thousands and what the United Nations estimates to be the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

This marks the first public visit of a Houthi delegation to the kingdom since Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign in March 2015, leading a coalition to halt the advance of the Iran-aligned group in its neighboring country.

This visit comes approximately five months after a Saudi delegation visited Sanaa to discuss the peace process.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a prominent political figure among the rebels who control Sanaa and other areas in Yemen, stated, "Our hope is to have serious discussions that serve the interests of both peoples and overcome challenges."

He also wrote on the "Ex" platform early on Friday, "Dialogue can only be with the coalition of aggression, given that the decision of aggression, blockade, and its cessation is in their hands."

He indicated that the dialogue in Saudi Arabia, mediated by Oman, focuses on paying the salaries of government employees, the release of all prisoners and detainees, the "withdrawal of foreign forces," reconstruction, and ultimately reaching a comprehensive political solution.

Saudi Arabia's government-owned channel, Al-Ikhbariya, mentioned on Thursday evening that the kingdom is hosting "a negotiating delegation representing the Yemeni component, with the aim of continuing talks aimed at finding a political solution, a comprehensive ceasefire, and transitioning from conflict to stability."

In turn, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) stated that Riyadh "invited a delegation from Sanaa to visit the Kingdom to continue (...) meetings and discussions."

An official at the airport in the Houthi-controlled capital earlier told Agence France-Presse that an Omani plane transported "a Houthi delegation comprising ten individuals along with five Omanis" from Sanaa to Riyadh, while a Houthi official stated that the "duration of the visit is five days."

Oman plays a mediator role in the conflict.

The Yemeni government, in a statement on Friday, welcomed the "efforts of our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, and international and regional initiatives aimed at urging the Houthi militias to seriously engage with peace calls and alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Yemeni people."

It reaffirmed its commitment to "an approach that is open to all initiatives aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace, (...) ensuring an end to the coup, the restoration of state institutions, security, stability, and development in Yemen."

A senior official in the Yemeni government, familiar with the talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, stated that the purpose of the visit is "to hold negotiations with Saudi Arabia and reach a final agreement on the details of the humanitarian and economic files."

The talks are expected to focus on the issue of paying the salaries of Houthi-affiliated government employees, which is a contentious point, and the opening of new destinations from Sanaa airport, which remained closed for years before the coalition allowed flights to Jordan and Egypt last year.

Political sources in Sanaa also expect the Houthis to discuss the "final formula" for a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, with the parties to the conflict subsequently entering direct negotiations for a political solution under the auspices of the United Nations, with support from Saudi Arabia and Oman.

In April, the visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa, along with recent rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, has raised hopes for a political solution to the ongoing conflict in the world's poorest nation.

Fighting in Yemen has significantly subsided since the implementation of the UN-mediated ceasefire in April 2022, which remains largely in place even after its official expiration in October 2022.

However, the humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country continues to worsen, with a decrease in humanitarian aid due to funding shortages.

On Thursday, 98 international and local entities, including UN-affiliated organizations, called for increased funding to continue assisting "more than 21.6 million people, or 75 percent of Yemen's population."



AFP