NICOSIA, Cyprus — The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates says his country is committed to continue its support of Yemen's internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi.
Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Monday that the UAE is also "very much committed" to pursuing Al-Qaeda in Yemen where the group has taken root because of the lack of government control.
On Sunday, Hadi threatened to boycott peace talks with Iran-backed rebels if the UN envoy insists on a roadmap stipulating a unity government that includes the insurgents.
UN-sponsored talks between Hadi's government and the Houthi rebels and their allies are scheduled to resume on Friday in Kuwait after a two-week break.
More than two months of negotiations have failed to make headway to end the deadly conflict.
"We will not return to the talks in Kuwait if the United Nations tries to impose the latest proposal by mediator Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed," Hadi said during a visit to inspect troops in Marib province, east of the rebel-held capital.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed has put forward a peace roadmap that would see the formation of a unity government and the withdrawal and disarmament of the rebels.
He said the negotiators had welcomed his proposal but had not agreed a timetable or the steps needed to implement it.
The government had already expressed doubts this month about the UN-backed efforts.
Hadi's government wants to re-establish its authority across the entire country.
The rebels have conditioned their withdrawal on both sides agreeing on a new president to manage the transition.
In his speech, published on the official sabanew.net website, Hadi insisted that the rebels were using the Kuwait talks to "legitimize their coup d'etat", and rejected the UN proposal for a unity government.
"The UN has tried to convince us to form a coalition government. We said we would issue a statement declaring our boycott of the Kuwait consultations," Hadi said.
"The Yemenis will not allow Yemen to be turned into a Persian state" in Iran's orbit, he said, vowing to recapture Sanaa "soon".
In February last year the Houthis dissolved the government and parliament and formed their own Supreme Revolutionary Committee to rule Yemen.
Hadi's visit to Marib comes as fighting raged on between loyalists and rebels in the province's northern oil-rich region of Sarwah.
Late Saturday, Saudi-led coalition defense systems intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the rebels at Marib city, a military source said.
Meanwhile, a suspected US drone strike wounded four Al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen's central Marib province on Sunday, local tribesmen and media said, hours after the exiled Yemeni president flew in to meet Arab military leaders in his war against the Houthi rebels.
Sunday's drone strike happened on the same day as Hadi arrived in Marib city, about 120 km (75 miles) east of the capital Sanaa.
