Geneva Meetings Studying Adding More Names to Yemen Prisoner Swap List

The negotiating teams at the Geneva talks. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The negotiating teams at the Geneva talks. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Geneva Meetings Studying Adding More Names to Yemen Prisoner Swap List

The negotiating teams at the Geneva talks. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The negotiating teams at the Geneva talks. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A Yemeni official revealed that the new round of negotiations over a prisoner swap with the Iran-backed Houthi militias reached an agreement to review and confirm the names of individuals who will be released in the next exchange.

They will also hold talks to add more names to the list.

The United Nations-sponsored talks had kicked off in Geneva on Saturday.

Deputy minister for human rights and member of the government negotiations delegation Majed Fadail told Asharq Al-Awsat that the first Geneva meeting included a Houthi and UN delegation.

All sides agreed on the names already listed and that new ones should be added.

He stressed that the government is keen on ensuring the success of the negotiations.

“I hope the Houthis will be serious about the talks,” he stated.

The Geneva meetings had been scheduled prior to last week’s landmark announcement that Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic relations.

The agreement may reflect positively on the Geneva meetings and their outsomes, said observers.

The meetings will be held over 11 days and efforts are ongoing to add more prisoners held by both warring parties to the exchange list.

Last week, UN envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg had urged both parties to “engage in serious and forthcoming discussions to agree on releasing as many detainees as possible,” according to a UN statement.

“I urge the parties to fulfill the commitments they made, not just to each other, but also to the thousands of Yemeni families who have been waiting to be reunited with their loved ones for far too long,” he said.



Lebanese President Says ‘Forbidden’ to Return to War Rhetoric

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says ‘Forbidden’ to Return to War Rhetoric

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with the French delegation on Monday. (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday it was “forbidden to return to war rhetoric,” while reiterating that the decision to limit the possession of arms to the state “has been taken.”

The issue is being addressed calmly and responsibly in order to protect civil peace, he stressed while meeting a delegation from the French Senate at the Baabda Palace.

Aoun added that the Lebanese army was carrying out its duties in full south of the Litani River in line with the ceasefire agreement reached in November, according to a presidency statement.

It continues to clear villages and towns of ammunition and armed presence, he went on to say, remarking that the process will take some time because of the large area that will be covered.

The main obstacle preventing the army from reaching the southern border is Israel’s occupation of five hilltops, which Aoun said, have no military significance.

Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the area is complicating matters and preventing stability from being restored to the border, which makes their pullout necessary so that the Lebanese army can continue its deployment and allow the state to impose its authority across the country, the president urged.

He told the French delegation that the army is deployed along the northern and eastern borders and is carrying out its duties there, especially combating terrorism, human-trafficking and drug smuggling.

Aoun stressed that he is in contact with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to coordinate over border issues to prevent any unrest.

Joint committees have been formed after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Damascus in order to address pending issues, especially the demarcation of the land and maritime borders and Syrian refugees still in Lebanon, Aoun said.

Now that war in Syria is over, the refugees who are still in Lebanon are staying for economic reasons, he explained, saying that Beirut has called on the international community to provide them with assistance to allow them to go back to their country.

The assistance should not be paid in Lebanon, which will only encourage the refugees to stay, he noted.