Yemen govt team heads to Sweden for peace talks
in neutral Oman.
The US State Department hailed the peace talks in Sweden as a “necessary and vital first step” and called on all parties to “cease any ongoing hostilities.”
The United Arab Emirates, another key backer of the Yemeni government, said the planned talks offered a “critical opportunity” to bring peace to the country.
No date has been announced for the start of the negotiations, but Yemeni government sources said they could begin on Thursday.
The head of the 12-member Houthi delegation, Mohammed Abdelsalam, said it would “spare no effort to make a success of the talks to restore peace and end the aggression.”
At the same time, he called on Houthi insurgents to remain “vigilant against any attempt at a military escalation on the ground.”
The announcement of a deal on Tuesday to swap hundreds of detainees was hailed by the International Committee of the Red Cross as “one step in the right direction toward the building of mutual trust.”
The ICRC will oversee the exchange after the first round of talks in Sweden.
The agreement, struck by the UN envoy in weeks of shuttle diplomacy, came after the wounded Houthis were flown out for treatment on Monday, meeting a key Houthi precondition for joining the talks.
Yemeni government official Hadi Haig said between 1,500 and 2,000 pro-government personnel and between 1,000 and 1,500 Houthis would be released.
On the government side, they include former Defense Minister Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, who has been held by the Houthis since they overran the capital in late 2014, and President Hadi’s brother Nasser, a general and former senior intelligence official.
The Norwegian Refugee Council on Wednesday called for the two sides to put a halt to the fighting.
“Yemen needs an immediate cease-fire and concrete steps to restore public services,” it said in a statement.
“Parties to the conflict must agree ways to reopen all ports and stabilize the nation’s collapsing economy, while facilitating full and unfettered access for people in need of humanitarian aid.”