SHAFAQNA- While the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrived in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi group welcomed bin Salman’s remarks on Yemen war end.
Griffiths has been shuttling between Sanaa and Riyadh in attempts to rescue peace talks between the Yemeni rival parties at per Stockholm Agreement.
He commended once again yesterday’s unilateral release of detainees by Ansar Allah.
“Such initiatives help create a conducive environment and build confidence for the resumption of the peace process”, Mr. Griffiths said.
The Special Envoy hopes this will encourage parties to renew their commitments towards the exchange of prisoners and detainees in accordance with what they agreed upon in Stockholm, unmissions told.
Peace talks between Houthis and the exiled government have been stalled since they reached a UN-sponsored cease-fire agreement in Stockholm in December 2018 over the country’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, xinhuanet reported.
Both Yemeni warring parties have failed to implement the deal or withdraw their forces from Hodeidah. The Houthis are still holding the port city while the government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition are stationing on the southern outskirts of Hodeidah.
A source in the UN envoy’s office told Anadolu Agency that Griffiths will discuss with Houthi leader Abdul Malik al Houthi and other members the prospects for calm between the group and Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis this week signaled their readiness for peace, saying they would stop cross-border missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which backs the exiled Yemeni government, and unilaterally handed over 290 prisoners of war. On Tuesday, Yemen’s Houthi group welcomed remarks by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in which he voiced hope for reaching a political solution to the five-year conflict in Yemen.
“Bin Salman’s optimism about stopping the war is positive,” Mohamed Ali al Houthi, a member of the group’s political council, said in statements cited by the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
“Turning the discussion into negotiations requires [Saudis] to show seriousness and to deal in a realistic way without any dictations,” he said.
In an interview with CBS News on Monday, bin Salman said Saudi Arabia was open to all initiatives for a political solution in Yemen.