Oman-brokered talks between rebel Houthi leaders and Saudi officials have begun in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, with the goal of reaching an agreement to end their eight-year war before the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
UN envoy Hans Grundberg, who has negotiated an exchange of 887 prisoners, said this effort is “the closest Yemen has been to real progress towards lasting peace”.
Houthi leader Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said on Twitter that achieving peace would be “a triumph for both parties” and urged those involved to “preserve a peaceful atmosphere and prepare to turn the page of the past”.
Houthi supreme political council head Mahdi al-Mashat and Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed bin Saeed al-Jaber have reportedly agreed a plan.
Unnamed officials who briefed the Associated Press said implementation would begin with a six-month ceasefire and UN-mediated negotiations between the Houthis, the Saudi-appointed presidential council and other Yemeni groups.
While the Saudis have been instrumental in drafting the agreement, it is planned that the peace deal will be negotiated by Yemenis.
Under the plan, the Saudi-sponsored side will meet Houthi demands to end the air and maritime blockade of Houthi-held areas, reunify the central bank and pay salaries to all public employees and military personnel. The Houthis will lift their siege of government forces in the city of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest, and cease strikes which have halted oil exports from government-controlled areas. Houthis will guarantee Saudi security from Yemeni attack while Saudis will fund reconstruction.
The next stage would involve withdrawal of foreign forces and rebuilding the war-ravaged country, the region’s poorest. The final task would be to form a new Yemeni state and determine its governance.
While the plan is seen as an achievement, Yemeni government foreign minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak said “many fundamental issues” remain to be settled.
Researcher Charles Schmitz, writing on the Washington-based Middle East Institute blog, did not speculate on the impact on Yemen of the March 10th China-brokered Saudi-Iranian resumption of relations, but said: “What is certain is that the Saudis want very much to settle the war in Yemen and that the Houthis have the upper hand in the negotiations.”
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and United Arab Emirates prince, and now president, Mohammed bin Zayed intervened in 2015 after the Houthis drove former president Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi from Sanaa and seized control of a large area of the country. Saudi-Emirati involvement prompted Iran to provide limited aid to the Houthis. In 2020 Mr bin Zayed withdrew his forces from the stalemated war while Mr bin Salman’s forces continued air operations against the Houthis.
The UN has estimated that more than 377,000 Yemenis have died in fighting and from starvation and disease, while 76 per cent of 33 million Yemenis depend on external aid to survive.
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