Southern Transitional Council (STC) head Aidarus al-Zubaidi arrived on Tuesday in Jeddah, on his second visit since the Saudi call for a dialogue between the STC and Yemen’s legitimate government following the incidents that took place in Aden early August.
STC spokesman Nizar Haitham told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the Council is willing to meet with the government delegation.
“We are waiting for the dialogue’s date and agenda to be set,” he said.
In case the government refused to hold talks, then the delegation will meet with Saudi leaders to propose and discuss ideas, he added.
Haitham said that the STC delegation wants to discuss several issues, including ending tension, chaos and provocative acts by the pro-legitimacy al-Islah party in southern provinces.
According to the spokesman, the delegation will also insist that southern regions be ruled by southerners to ensure providing services to citizens and protecting them from terrorist cells.
He said the legitimacy will be requested to end non-southern pro-legitimacy military presence and hear their intention in fighting Houthi militias.
Haitham affirmed that the STC doesn’t wish to be part of the authorities, noting that the Council had approved the legitimacy of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi because it serves the people.
Yemeni government sources revealed to the newspaper that Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadrami held this week a series of meetings with a number of diplomats and ambassadors.
The sources said the meetings backed the Kingdom’s call for dialogue between Yemen’s legitimacy and the STC to end military tension, and the government’s return to Aden after a full settlement that guarantees last month’s clashes don’t reoccur.
Hadrami discussed with Junaid Jay Munir, Deputy Chief of Mission for the US Embassy to Yemen, the developments in Yemen and the efforts of the government to confront STC’s rebellion.
Moreover, Yemeni parties denounced in a joint statement the latest incidents in the interim capital Aden and some southern provinces, accusing the STC of revolting against the Yemeni state legitimacy and seizing government institutions.
The statement, signed by 11 parties, praised the Saudi efforts in backing the legitimacy to contain the recent incidents in Aden and some southern provinces.
