Jordan to Host New Round of Yemeni Prisoners' Talks

Yemeni government meeting in the temporary capital, Aden (Saba News)
Yemeni government meeting in the temporary capital, Aden (Saba News)
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Jordan to Host New Round of Yemeni Prisoners' Talks

Yemeni government meeting in the temporary capital, Aden (Saba News)
Yemeni government meeting in the temporary capital, Aden (Saba News)

Jordan will host on Sunday q new round of Yemeni negotiations between the government and the Houthis regarding prisoners and detainees, according to official Yemeni sources.

The talks are taking place under the auspice of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) Hans Grundberg.

The military media of the Joint Forces on the western coast of Yemen quoted a member of the government's negotiating team, Abdullah Abu Houria, who verified that a new round of UN-sponsored prisoner negotiations will take place on Nov. 26 based on the all-for-all principle.

The release of political figure Mohammed Qahtan will be the first topic addressed by the government team.

Abu Houria hoped that the negotiations would succeed in releasing all prisoners, detainees, and forcibly disappeared persons and ending the suffering of all families, most of whom do not know their fate.

Previous negotiating rounds, sponsored by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), succeeded in releasing two batches of prisoners and detainees, including 1,000 in the first batch and 900 in the second.

The Yemeni government said it seeks to release all detainees according to the "all for all" rule, accusing the Houthis of trying to fail the discussions by being selective or demanding the names of captives who are not detained by the government forces.

During the previous two release operations, the Houthi group released three of the four individuals included in UN Security Council Resolution 2216, including the brother of the former president Nasser Mansour, former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi, and military commander Faisal Rajab.

The group still refuses to release Qahtan or provide information about his health condition. Qahtan's family is not allowed to communicate with him.

Meanwhile, the government warned of the Houthi threat in the Red Sea and their threat to international shipping and commercial shipping lines.

Last week, the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the southern Red Sea, saying it was Israeli-owned.

The Yemeni government held a meeting in Aden to address the economic, financial, and monetary conditions and discuss the governor's report of the central bank.

The meeting stressed the importance of coordination with the Central Bank in implementing precautionary financial and monetary policies and rearranging priorities to help overcome difficult and exceptional circumstances, especially with the cessation of oil exports.

They discussed reforms, coordination between financial and monetary administrations, aspects of integration to control the exchange rates, and enhancing revenues.

According to official media, the government renewed its absolute rejection of the unprecedented Houthi terrorist act that targeted the safety and freedom of international navigation, saying it represents a terrorist attack that disregards the Palestinian-Arab cause, the Yemeni national interest, or international law.

The government warned that the Houthi action, which it described as "terrorist on behalf of the Iranian regime," would deepen the humanitarian crisis for the Yemeni people and increase the economic burdens.

The officials stressed that the best way to show solidarity and support the Palestinian cause is to unite the Arab and Islamic ranks in confronting the occupying Israeli government and take the necessary steps to stop its crimes until establishing an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state.



Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.