Yemen seeks new roadmap for peace

Yemen seeks new roadmap for peace

December 18, 2016
Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi
Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi




Aden — Yemeni foreign minister and head of the government’s peace talks delegation Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi met on Saturday UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Mekhlafi explained that the government is expecting the UN envoy to provide a new roadmap to achieve peace.

He stressed that the implementation of Security Council resolution 2216 is the only viable option to save the Yemeni people from the ravages of war.

All opposition militias should abide by this resolution, he said.

Mekhlafi also reiterated the government’s keenness on peace and harmony to get Yemen out of strife and push the legitimate authorities toward dealing positively with all international efforts aimed at achieving peace and implementing international resolutions.

Meanwhile, the US State Department announced that Secretary of State John Kerry will visit the Saudi capital on Sunday to hold talks with Saudi leaders on several topics in the Middle East.

Mark Toner, assistant spokesman for the ministry said that Kerry will discuss during his visit, regional developments, including the situation in Yemen and the efforts of his counterparts to resolve the crisis on a political level.

Meanwhile, the Houthi militia delegation visited the Russian capital Moscow this week, the second international visit after China within two weeks. The delegation is looking for an international recognition for a rebel government headquartered in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

But Russia had announced earlier that it supports the legitimate government of Yemen.

On Wednesday, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman warned against external “interference in the internal affairs” of Yemen.

In his address to the Shoura Council, the King also said that Saudi Arabia would never accept that Yemen “becomes a base or a point of passage for whatever state or party to menace the security or the stability of the Kingdom and of the region”.

International investigators last month said they had found a suspected “weapon pipeline” from Iran through Somalia to Yemen.

British-based Conflict Armament Research, which is primarily funded by the European Union, analyzed photographs of weapons including assault rifles and rocket launchers to draw its conclusions. — Agencies


December 18, 2016
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