Saudi-Based Gulf Cooperation Council To Invite Yemen’s Houthis For Talks – Report

Saudi-Based Gulf Cooperation Council To Invite Yemen’s Houthis For Talks – Report

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The Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering inviting the Houthi (Ansar Allah) and other Yemeni parties for talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as part of an initiative meant to support the UN-led peace efforts in Yemen, Reuters reported on March 15.

Two gulf officials told the news agency that the talks will cover military, political and economic aspects of the war in Yemen which has been ongoing since 2014.

According to the officials, President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Saudi Arabia’s main ally in Yemen, has agreed to join the talks which are planned from March 29 to April 7.

The officials said that the Houthis’ representatives will be “guests” of GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah Mubarak al-Hajraf at the body’s Riyadh headquarters. Al-Hajraf will provide the Houthis with security guarantees if they accepted the invitation for the talks.

On March 16, the Iran-aligned Houthis welcomed possible talks with the Saudi-led coalition. However, the group stressed that the talks should be held in a neutral GCC state.

“It is neither logical, nor fair that the host of the talks is also the sponsor of war and blockade,” the group said in a statement released by the official Saba News Agency.

The Houthis emphasized in the statement that the humanitarian situation in Yemen should be the priority of any upcoming talks. The group said that lifting the Saudi-led coalition’s siege off al-Hudaydah port and Sanaa airport should be prioritized.

With the current demand by the Houthis, the talks are unlikely to take place in the Saudi capital. The talks could be held in a neutral GCC state like Oman, where some Houthi officials are based, or Kuwait, which hosted previous peace talks in 2015.

With no gains in the battlefield and an ever rising cost, Saudi Arabia appears to be looking for a way out from the war with the Houthis. The Yemeni group, whose supporters suffered greatly from the war, may take this chance. However, it will not likely give up on its basic principles.

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nepoleon

Saudi Wahhabi have no credibility whatsoever, just like americunts, jews and britshits, they are just afraid that Yemen put Aramco out of business with cheap drones, patriot missiles? they are useless so this going to happen sooner or later

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