Yemen government plans to move main airport to Aden

Yemen’s main airport should be in the southern city of Aden and a handover of the port of Hodeidah by Iran-backed Houthi militias is non-negotiable, Yemen’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

“We have a vision that Aden will be the sovereign airport of Yemen,” Khaled Al-Yamani said at UN-brokered talks on Yemen in the village of Rimbo in Sweden.

“As concerns the port ... we accept that it works under the administration that ran the port in 2014, and we are ready to coordinate with the UN on supervision and the reinforcement of port operations. “But the port must remain sovereign, part of the work of the Yemeni Transport Ministry which is in charge of Yemeni borders and ports.”

The reopening of Sanaa airport and the immediate future of Hodeidah are among key issues under discussion at the talks, along with a prisoner swap and the potential opening of humanitarian corridors. The discussions in Sweden are the first involving the two sides in two years, since the last round of talks in 2016 broke down after three months.

After Saturday’s third day of talks, the delegations have yet to meet face to face. A UN official, however, said, there was a “difference between private and public discourse,” and UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths said the talks had been “serious and constructive.”

The chief Houthi negotiator, Mohammed Abdusalam, said Hodeidah should be declared a neutral zone overseen by the UN.

“There would be no need for a military presence there if battles stop,” he said

“Hodeidah is an economic hub and it should stay that way for the sake of all Yemenis.”

However, the Houthis were not serious about the talks, a senior Yemeni government official said.

“Expectations stem from experience, and from experience I would say no, they are not serious,” said Rana Ghanem, a member of the government delegation. “But our hope ... is that the talks will help alleviate the tension, and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.”