Riyadh in ‘Yemen rebel talks’
RIYADH: Riyadh is in talks with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in a bid to end the country’s civil war, a Saudi official said yesterday in the first official confirmation of dialogue between the two sides.
The comment comes after Saudi Arabia brokered a power sharing agreement between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and southern separatists, which observers say could pave the way for a wider peace deal.
“We have had an open channel with the Houthis since 2016. We are continuing these communications to support peace in Yemen,” a senior Saudi official told reporters.
“We don’t close our doors with the Houthis.”
The official, who declined to be named, gave no further details on the talks but the development came after rebel missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities spiked over the summer, followed by a lull in recent weeks.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthi rebels, who seized
Yemen’s capital Sana’a and much of the country’s north in 2014, sparking a Saudi-led military intervention the following March.
Washington too is in talks with the Houthis, Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker said during a visit to Saudi Arabia in September.
He did not say whether the Americans were holding talks separately with the rebels, but analysts say they were likely happening in consultation with Saudi Arabia, a key ally of Washington.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 as the Houthi rebels closed in on second city Aden, prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee into Saudi exile.
Riyadh had reportedly hoped for a quick win against the Houthis, but instead waded into a quagmire that has cost it billions of dollars and hurt its reputation, while devastating the Arab world’s poorest country.
The confirmation of talks comes amid the slow implementation of a landmark ceasefire deal in rebel-held Hodeida, which was agreed between the government and the Houthis in Sweden late last year. The deal was hailed as Yemen’s best chance so far to end the four-year conflict, but it appears to be hanging by a thread with breaches reported by both sides.
“If the Houthis [are] serious to deescalate and come to the table, Saudi Arabia will support their demand and support all political parties to reach a political solution,” the Saudi official said.