Martin Griffiths
WASHINGTON: Peace talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen have been set for early December in Sweden, between Huthi rebels and the UN-recognised government, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday.
He said the Saudis and United Arab Emirates — who have militarily backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the brutal three-year-old war — ‘are fully on board, by the way.’
“It looks like that very, very early in December, up in Sweden, we’ll see both the Huthi rebel side and the UN-recognised government, President Hadi’s government, will be up there.”
Mattis last month made a surprise call for a ceasefire in Yemen and urged warring parties to enter negotiations within the next 30 days.
The United Nations has now pushed that deadline back to the end of the year.
Mattis’ latest comments came as the US State Department said talks must not be delayed any longer, and UN envoy Martin Griffiths was in Sanaa for talks with rebel leaders to push them to join the peace talks in
Sweden.
Griffiths is spearheading the biggest push in two years to end the war, which has sparked what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Washington has been providing bombs and other weapons, as well as intelligence support, to the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi, but recently ended its refueling support for Saudi warplanes.
The Huthis failed to show up to peace talks in Switzerland in September, leading to the
collapse of that effort to end the fighting.
The Huthis have said repeatedly that they need stronger security guarantees from the international community that they will be given safe passage through the crippling air and sea blockade the coalition has enforced since March 2015.
UN agencies say up to 14 million Yemenis are at risk of starvation if fighting closes the port of Hodeida, a gateway for humanitarian aid.
“All parties must not delay talks any longer, or insist on travel or transport conditions that call into question good faith intentions to look for a solution or to make necessary concessions,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
“The time for direct talks and building mutual confidence is now.” — AFP