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Yemen FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemen Is on the Brink

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak (Saad al-Anzi)
Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak (Saad al-Anzi)
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Yemen FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemen Is on the Brink

Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak (Saad al-Anzi)
Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak (Saad al-Anzi)

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak admitted that Yemen is on the brink of collapse, however, he expressed his belief that the legitimacy succeeded in securing livelihood in liberated areas, including Shabwa, Hadramawt, Marib, and Mahra, despite challenges.

In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, bin Mubarak described the Houthi group as a “movement of violence.”

The minister said there are several opportunities for peace, stressing that the main challenge is to end the war.

Asked whether he believes Yemenis are heading towards peace or civil war, the minister indicated that there are several conflicts, but Yemenis will not allow a scenario similar to that of Somalia.

Asharq Al-Awsat asked bin Mubarak about the Omani mediation, as its results remain unclear to date, he asserted that all peace efforts are appreciated, noting that they have not been informed about the meeting with the Houthis.

He said that Houthis’ strength stems from the weakness of all political components, noting that they wouldn’t have entered Sanaa had they not exploited the differences between the political forces.

Asked why the legitimacy failed to provide a positive model in its regions, the minister recalled that in December, the government returned to Aden, but was later forced to leave for security reasons.

“We are in a phase based on partnership and this entails joint responsibility.”

Bin Mubarak stressed that it is unfair to say the situation is bad, noting that security and stability have been maintained in areas under the government’s control.

The minister discussed the situation in Marib, asserting that the city will not fall, saying everyone understands its geostrategic importance, warning that if Houthis reach Marib, they will seek to target the whole Arabian Peninsula.

He asserted that enforcing the rule of law and the constitution on Yemeni soil is a “legitimate matter that has no red lines,” adding that the constitution, international law, and Security Council resolutions all address unity, security, stability, and sovereignty of the recognized Yemeni state.

In response to the question about the operation to liberate Hodeidah, the minister explained that the situation is terrible in the city, and Houthis did not allow the entrance of humanitarian aid.

The objective of the Stockholm Agreement was to address the situation in Hodeidah and its port, however, it has not been implemented, according to the minister.

“The world should review what happened in Stockholm and ensure that it is not repeated in any subsequent agreement.”

Bin Mubarak asserted that the security situation prevents the return of the President and Vice President to the liberated areas.

Asked about the conflict between the political and armed wings of the Houthi group, the minister indicated that it is not a “coherent group” and the two always clash.

“The armed wing is the real decision-maker.”

On the Iranian presidential elections, bin Mubarak asserted that the Supreme Leader is the de facto ruler.

“Iran is a huge neighboring country […] Our main issue is with its approach […] We suffer the most from the Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

Bin Mubarak further said the government’s return to Aden, in accordance with the Riyadh Agreement, faced security challenges and the escalation of the media discourse, forcing it to leave a few months later.

“We trust and rely on the role of our brothers in Saudi Arabia, as a sponsor of this agreement,” said the minister, asserting that the government will exert all efforts to move forward in completing its implementation.

Bin Mubarak asserted Yemen’s sovereignty over all its cities, islands, airspace and seas, and confirmed that there isn’t any agreement regarding Socotra and Mayon. However, he reiterated that there is great cooperation within the Arab coalition and joint military operations.

Asked about the corruption and its influence on the government’s performance, the minister admitted the system is flawed.

The government’s most important principle is to “enhance the monitoring performance of state institutions,” said the minister.

“We believe that combating corruption is an important issue that must be addressed radically.”

Regarding the diplomatic corps, he explained that there is an evaluation program for the performance focusing on efficiency and addressing any issues.

“We are trying to get more efficient teams in diplomatic missions and develop strategies and policy approaches,” noted the minister, lauding the efforts of the Yemeni diplomatic missions despite all the difficult conditions and budgeting issues.

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Interviews

Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
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Goldrich to Asharq Al-Awsat: No US Withdrawal from Syria

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich during the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich has told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US does not plan to withdraw its forces from Syria.

The US is committed to “the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with,” he said.

Here is the full text of the interview.

Question: Mr. Goldrich, thank you so much for taking the time to sit with us today. I know you are leaving your post soon. How do you assess the accomplishments and challenges remaining?

Answer: Thank you very much for the chance to talk with you today. I've been in this position for three years, and so at the end of three years, I can see that there's a lot that we accomplished and a lot that we have left to do. But at the beginning of a time I was here, we had just completed a review of our Syria policy, and we saw that we needed to focus on reducing suffering for the people in Syria. We needed to reduce violence. We needed to hold the regime accountable for things that are done and most importantly, from the US perspective, we needed to keep ISIS from reemerging as a threat to our country and to other countries. At the same time, we also realized that there wouldn't be a solution to the crisis until there was a political process under resolution 2254, so in each of these areas, we've seen both progress and challenges, but of course, on ISIS, we have prevented the reemergence of the threat from northeast Syria, and we've helped deal with people that needed to be repatriated out of the prisons, and we dealt with displaced people in al-Hol to reduce the numbers there. We helped provide for stabilization in those parts of Syria.

Question: I want to talk a little bit about the ISIS situation now that the US troops are still there, do you envision a timeline where they will be withdrawn? Because there were some reports in the press that there is a plan from the Biden administration to withdraw.

Answer: Yeah. So right now, our focus is on the mission that we have there to keep ISIS from reemerging. So I know there have been reports, but I want to make clear that we remain committed to the role that we play in that part of Syria, to the partnership that we have with the local forces that we work with, and to the need to prevent that threat from reemerging.

Question: So you can assure people who are saying that you might withdraw, that you are remaining for the time being?

Answer: Yes, and that we remain committed to this mission which needs to continue to be pursued.

Question: You also mentioned the importance of humanitarian aid. The US has been leading on this. Are you satisfied with where you are today on the humanitarian front in Syria?

Answer: We remain committed to the role that we play to provide for humanitarian assistance in Syria. Of the money that was pledged in Brussels, we pledged $593 million just this past spring, and we overall, since the beginning of the conflict, have provided $18 billion both to help the Syrians who are inside of Syria and to help the refugees who are in surrounding countries. And so we remain committed to providing that assistance, and we remain keenly aware that 90% of Syrians are living in poverty right now, and that there's been suffering there. We're doing everything we can to reduce the suffering, but I think where we would really like to be is where there's a larger solution to the whole crisis, so Syrian people someday will be able to provide again for themselves and not need this assistance.

Question: And that's a perfect key to my next question. Solution in Syria. you are aware that the countries in the region are opening up to Assad again, and you also have the EU signaling overture to the Syrian regime and Assad. How do you deal with that?

Answer: For the United States, our policy continues to be that we will not normalize with the regime in Syria until there's been authentic and enduring progress on the goals of resolution 2254, until the human rights of the Syrian people are respected and until they have the civil and human rights that they deserve. We know other countries have engaged with the regime. When those engagements happen, we don't support them, but we remind the countries that are engaged that they should be using their engagements to push forward on the shared international goals under 2254, and that whatever it is that they're doing should be for the sake of improving the situation of the Syrian people.

Question: Let's say that all of the countries decided to talk to Assad, aren’t you worried that the US will be alienated in the process?

Answer: The US will remain true to our own principles and our own policies and our own laws, and the path for the regime in Syria to change its relationship with us is very clear, if they change the behaviors that led to the laws that we have and to the policies that we have, if those behaviors change and the circumstances inside of Syria change, then it's possible to have a different kind of relationship, but that's where it has to start.

Question: My last question to you before you leave, if you have to pick one thing that you need to do in Syria today, what is it that you would like to see happening today?

Answer: So there are a number of things, I think that will always be left and that there are things that we will try to do, to try to make them happen. We want to hold people accountable in Syria for things that have happened. So even today, we observed something called the International Day for victims of enforced disappearances, there are people that are missing, and we're trying to draw attention to the need to account for the missing people. So our step today was to sanction a number of officials who were responsible for enforced disappearances, but we also created something called the independent institution for missing persons, and that helps the families, in the non-political way, get information on what's happened. So I'd like to see some peace for the families of the missing people. I'd like to see the beginning of a political process, there hasn't been a meeting of the constitutional committee in two years, and I think that's because the regime has not been cooperating in political process steps. So we need to change that situation. And I would, of course, like it's important to see the continuation of the things that we were talking about, so keeping ISIS from reemerging and maintaining assistance as necessary in the humanitarian sphere. So all these things, some of them are ongoing, and some of them remain to be achieved. But the Syrian people deserve all aspects of our policy to be fulfilled and for them to be able to return to a normal life.