Former Yemen prime minister says peace deal still possible if Houthis attend talks

Yemen’s former prime minister Khaled Bahah said yesterday that there was still room for a political settlement to the country’s nearly four-year war.

But Mr Bahah said the Houthi rebels would lose all credibility among global powers if they derailed peace talks scheduled for the end of the year. The Houthi movement blocked negotiations in September, after their delegation refused to attend talks in Geneva led by UN envoy Martin Griffiths, who has vowed to press ahead with diplomacy regardless.

The rebels refused to leave Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, insisting on last-minute demands including UN guarantees that their plane would not have to stop in Djibouti for inspection by the Saudi-led coalition.

“If they delay the peace process they will lose everything and the international community will deal with them as a terrorist organisation, just like ISIS,” Mr Bahah told The National at the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate.

“They will be categorised as a terrorist group because of the chaos and destruction they have caused in Yemen.”

Mr Griffiths, who is due to brief the Security Council on Friday, is trying to salvage the peace talks. He said this month that he hoped to bring the parties to the table within a month.

But a UN spokesman said negotiations would be delayed until the end of year to clear any challenges and boost chances for success.

The announced delay comes after fighting between Houthi militants and government forces around the port city of Hodeidah intensified in the start of this month. An aide to Mr Griffiths on Friday said work to relaunch the political process was proceeding as planned.

“We are in constant consultation with the parties to finalise the logistical arrangements for holding the talks,” the aide said. “We are committed to convening the talks as soon as those arrangements are finalised.”

Mr Bahah said he was optimistic about the talks, considering a preliminary framework for a possible solution is already in place.

“The environment for talks is positive considering that we have a draft constitution that the Houthis have agreed to and signed three years ago,” he said. “We won’t start all over again, even if the Houthis came to the negotiation table. We have agreed on a political outline.”

If rebels failed to show up,

Mr Bahah said the Yemeni government would present to the UN a proposal for a political settlement it has already drafted.

But he called on all sides of the conflict to ensure that Houthi rebels take part in the next round of talks.

Their absence, he said, would botch attempts to broker a solution to the conflict.

The former prime minister also said the Yemeni government was ready to discuss “confidence-building measures” to enhance trust between the warring parties.

Those include freeing prisoners, supporting the central bank, reopening airports and sending UN observers to Hodeidah port to prevent arms smuggling.

Mr Bahah said the Yemeni government had already discussed some, but not all, of these measures.

But he suggested discussion of confidence-building measures should be kept private because it could take months if not years before an agreement was reached.

“We don’t want people to lose hope,” he said.

Mr Bahah said developments in peace talks should be made public and available to increase public confidence.

The Yemeni conflict began in 2015 after Houthi rebels overthrew the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The conflict has killed thousands and created a humanitarian crisis.

Mr Bahah said the Yemeni government was ready to discuss confidencebuilding measures such as freeing prisoners