Yemen’s warring parties still at odds over key agenda items at Sweden peace talks

As UN-backed Yemen peace talks entered their third day in Sweden yesterday, representatives of the warring parties have yet to bridge differences over key issues, including reopening Sanaa airport and UN administration of a crucial Yemeni port.

Rana Ghanem, a member of the government’s delegation, told The National yesterday that it and Houthi delegation have not yet held face-to-face consultations.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths and his team have alternated between Houthi rebels and representatives of the Yemeni government, in Rimbo, north of Stockholm.

Ms Ghanem said discussions had yet to address a political solution to the conflict.

“This is natural. How can we engage in a political process when there are many issues on the ground that need to be resolved?” she said.

The UN envoy has outlined three initial objectives for the talks.

They are confidence-building measures including a prisoner swap, reopening Sanaa airport and securing UN administration of the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, through which almost 80 per cent of international aid enters the country.

The consultations are expected to last until December 13, with both sides under pressure to agree on measures that will lead to a resumption of formal peace talks.

Mr Griffiths commended the positive spirit the two parties were demonstrating.

“The two parties are engaged in a serious and constructive way in discussing the details of confidence-building measures, reduction of violence and the framework for negotiations,” he said.

Mr Griffiths stressed the importance of continued restraint and called on the two parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.

“We are working to the background of a very fragile situation in Yemen,” he said.

“We hope that de-escalation will be maintained on different front lines, to give a chance for progress to be achieved on the political consultations.”

Ms Ghanem said that the negotiating parties had raised the issue of confidence building between rebels and the government, in an effort to boost mutual trust that has been eroded over the course of the Yemeni conflict.

The delegate said that the government has formed three teams who are discussing issues including, Yemen’s economic crisis, prisoner swaps, and a rebel blockade on the Yemeni city of Taez, with a team of UN experts.

Yemen’s warring sides agreed on Thursday to free thousands of prisoners to enhance trust. But they have yet to agree on the logistics of the exchange.

The second day of talks was marred by complications after Houthi rebels rejected a request made by Yemen’s government to reopen Sanaa airport, which has been closed since it was captured by rebels in 2014, to domestic flights.

The government proposed reopening the airport on condition that planes are inspected in the airports of Aden or Sayun, which are under its control.

Delegates representing Houthi rebels refused plane inspections. But Ms Ghanem said that the government’s delegation did not receive an official response.

She criticised their reasons for rejecting the proposal, saying: “Before the airport was shut in 2014, there were daily domestic flights between Sanaa and Besha and the flights were inspected in Besha.”

The main point of the proposal to reopen Sanaa airport, she said, “is to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and to ensure the delivery of much needed humanitarian aid”.

The government is also pushing for Taez airport to be reopened, Ms Ghanem said.

The main negotiator for Houthi rebels, Mohammed Abdusalam, told Reuters yesterday that his group was open to the possibility of a UN role at Sanaa airport to secure agreement to reopen the facility, which has been bombed several times.

“The closing of Sanaa airport was a political decision not because of security concerns. If we agree on its reopening, we are ready to discuss those details,” Mr Abdusalam said.

Ms Ghanem said that Hodeidah must come under full government control.

The Yemeni government, backed by the Arab Coalition, accuses the Iran-backed rebels of using their control of the port, the main entry point for Yemen’s food imports and desperately needed humanitarian aid, to smuggle in weapons from Iran.

Yemen’s warring sides agreed to free thousands of prisoners but they have yet to agree on the logistics of the exchange