United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths was in the country’s temporary capital, Aden, on Saturday for the first time since his appointment as successor to Mauritania's Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, informed Yemeni government sources said.
The UN envoy will meet with a number of government officials and other Yemeni leaders in Aden before heading to the capital Sana’a to hold talks with Houthi leaders and other forces loyal to the insurgents in areas that fall under their control.
Griffiths began his new mission from Riyadh, where he met with the leadership of Yemeni legitimacy, represented by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Daghr, in addition to other Gulf officials.
This came in the context of the consultations he is leading to resume the stalled negotiations between the government and the Houthi militias.
In the first meeting with the UN envoy, the leaders affirmed the adherence to a peaceful solution based on the three principles: the Gulf initiative and its implementation mechanism, the outcomes of the national dialogue and Security Council Resolution 2216, the same references that Griffiths said he would need to reach a peace agreement.
The legitimate government demanded the militia to stop firing rockets into Saudi territories and release the prisoners and detainees in the context of proving good intentions and seriousness in reaching a peace that ends the coup.
In his first statement, the British envoy pledged to launch a comprehensive political process among Yemeni parties, starting with where his predecessor has stopped in the negotiations that were hosted by Kuwait and were thwarted by the militias, who did not agree to sign a proposed peace agreement by Ould Cheikh at the end of the talks.
Notably, all international parties concerned with the Yemeni file are optimistic, especially Western officials, that this year will mark the end of the Houthi coup against the legitimate government through a peace agreement sponsored by the new UN envoy.
The legitimate government accuses the Houthi rebels of investing only in the negotiations process to prolong the war, without seriously reaching an agreement, in implementation of Iran’s agenda, which provides them with weapons and logistical support.
