Prisoner swap deal in ‘milestone’ Yemen talks

REPRESENTATIVES from Yemen’s exiled government and Houthi rebels met for “milestone” peace talks yesterday, agreeing a mass prisoner swap on the first day.

The exchange, which will be overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross and include as many as 5,000 detainees from both sides, was seen as an encouraging start.

Diplomats shuffled between two rooms of a renovated castle 30 miles north of Stockholm during the indirect talks, which are planned to run for one week.

They got off to a shaky start after Iran-aligned Houthis threatened to bar the UN from using Sana’a airport unless it was fully opened to the “Yemeni people”. The international airport has been mostly closed for two years.

The Yemeni government, which is based in Saudi Arabia, responded by demanding the complete withdrawal of rebels from Hodeidah, the country’s main port.

The UN hopes to broker a

‘Both sides must suspend their belief in the possibility of a military victory’

deal that would place Hodeidah under international control, allowing aid in to bring relief to millions on the brink of starvation.

Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, has said the talks can succeed only if both sides “suspend their belief in the possibility of a military victory”.