A Saudi Arabian delegation is in Yemen’s capital Sana’a for talks with the Houthi rebel movement aimed at reaching a new and potentially permanent ceasefire. Saudi Arabia’s delegation, chaired by the kingdom’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber, will hold talks with with Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi’s supreme political council, which runs rebel-held areas in Yemen, according to the Houthi-run SABA news agency. An Omani delegation, which arrived in Sanaa on Saturday, will also join the talks, the agency reported, citing an unidentified source. Mohammed al-Bukaiti, a Houthi leader, said on Twitter that Saudi and Omani officials would discuss “ways to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region.” He said achieving an honorable peace between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia would be “a triumph for both parties,” and urged all sides to take steps to “preserve a peaceful atmosphere and prepare to turn the page of the past.” The Associated Press has the story:
Saudi, Omani envoys hold talks with Al-Houthi
Newslooks- RIYADH (AP)
Saudi and Omani delegations arrived in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, Houthi-run media said on Sunday, to negotiate a permanent ceasefire deal with Houthi officials and end Riyadh’s military involvement in the country’s longrunning war.
The visit indicates progress in the Oman-mediated consultations between Riyadh and Sanaa, which run in parallel to U.N. peace efforts. Peace efforts have also gained momentum after arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reestablish ties in a deal brokered by China.
The envoys, who landed late on Saturday, will meet with the head of Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, to hold talks on ending hostilities and lifting a Saudi-led “blockade” on Yemeni ports, Houthi news agency SABA reported.
Sources have told Reuters that the Saudi-Houthi talks are focused on a full reopening of Houthi-controlled ports and Sanaa airport, payment of wages for public servants, rebuilding efforts and a timeline for foreign forces to exit the country.
Yemen’s war is seen as one of several proxy battles between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Houthis, aligned with Iran, ousted a Saudi-backed government from Sanaa in late 2014, and have de facto control of north Yemen, saying they are rising up against a corrupt system and foreign aggression.
They have been fighting against a Saudi-led military alliance since 2015 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and left 80% of Yemen’s population dependent on humanitarian aid.
A Houthi official said on Saturday the group had received 13 detainees released by Saudi Arabia in exchange for a Saudi detainee freed earlier, ahead of a wider prisoner exchange agreed by the warring sides.
At talks in Switzerland last month attended by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed to free 887 detainees. The 13 prisoners are part of that agreement, Houthi official Abdul Qader al-Mortada said.
The Saudi government media office did not respond to a Reuters requests for comment on the prisoner exchange and the delegation visiting Sanaa.
