Saudi Ambassador to Yemen visits Sanaa to 'consolidate' armistice

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Apr 2023 22:05
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Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen says his visit to Sanaa is in pursuit of a political solution and an emboldened ceasefire.

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammad Al-Jaber meets with Yemeni Supreme Political Council leader Mahdi al-Mashat in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 10, 2023 (Twitter: @mohdsalj)

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Saeed Al Jaber, said Monday that his visit to Sanaa is aimed at consolidating the armistice, establishing a ceasefire, and backing the prisoner swap deal, as well as discussing the means of dialogue between the various Yemeni political components to reach a comprehensive and sustainable political solution in Yemen.

The Ambassador announced his visit on Twitter, saying the trip would be a continuation of Riyadh's efforts to bring an end to the Yemeni crisis and in support of the initiative that Saudi put forward in 2021.

وقفت المملكة حكومة وشعباً منذ عقود مع الأشقاء في اليمن في أحلك الظروف والأزمات السياسية والاقتصادية ، ولا تزال الجهود الأخوية مستمرة منذ العام ٢٠١١م لتحقيق تطلعات أبناء اليمن الشقيق بعوده الأمن والاستقرار والازدهار الاقتصادي.
— محمد ال جابر (@mohdsalj) April 10, 2023

Ansar Allah politburo member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti underlined earlier in the day that "there is no need to search for unrealistic explanations to justify the negotiations between Sanaa and Riyadh."

Al-Bukhaiti made clear that "things must be called by their names, as Saudi Arabia is not a mediator, but rather a party to the struggle."

The Ansar Allah official stressed that the movement was not ready to negotiate with Saudi Arabia again through Saudi-appointed Rashad al-Alimi, stressing that "this does not replace the need for a Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue without any external interference, and the doors of Sanaa are open to all."

Al-Bukhaiti renewed the call for the political components that were "involved in calling for aggression" to dialogue in order to "build a political process based on internal balances, achieve Yemen's sovereignty and independence, and ensure its ability to act in the interests of its Arab and Islamic nation."

The Omani and Saudi delegations arrived Saturday in the Yemeni capital. The two delegations met with the President of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mahdi al-Mashat, in order to complete the talks to extend the armistice after expanding its terms and conditions.

Sources told Al Mayadeen about the arrival of a high-ranking Omani delegation to the Yemeni capital, accompanied by the head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation, negotiator Mohammad Abdul Salam, to complete the talks to extend the armistice, after extending its terms and conditions.

Al Mayadeen's sources indicated that the Omani delegation's visit paved the way for the Saudi delegation that arrived on Saturday, headed by the Saudi ambassador, Mohammed Al Jaber, to Sanaa, to negotiate with the Ansar Allah movement and agree to extend the armistice.

Likewise, Yemeni sources told Al Mayadeen that the Omani delegation is completing talks to extend the armistice in Sanaa after expanding its terms and conditions.

On Friday, al-Bukhaiti told Al Mayadeen that the conditions for achieving the armistice were different from those for achieving peace.

Elsewhere, the Yemeni official confirmed that the armistice will be agreed upon before Eid Al-Fitr, adding that "in the coming days, there will be an agreement that will be [implemented] in two stages: an armistice stage and a comprehensive solution stage."