Saudi Arabia Invites Yemen's Houthi's For Talks. Is It A Promise Of A Ceasefire Once Again (Image:X.com/@KSAnofaEN)
Yemen’s Houthi delegation is heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for ceasefire talks. The talks are expected to bring in a permanent solution to the ongoing conflict which have been on since 2014. The ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia has released a statement on its Twitter handle on this, which said that, “to reach a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to reach a sustainable and acceptable political solution from all Yemeni parties, the Kingdom invited a delegation from Sana’a to visit the Kingdom to complete these meetings and discussions.”
The ceasefire talks are part of the continuing talks between Sanaa and Saudi Arabia, which has been mediated by Oman, the Reuters reported as Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthi supreme revolutionary committee saying.
Earlier, the Houthi al-Masirah TV had reported that delegation was on its way to Saudi Arabia. The Houthi delegation is expected at Saudi Arabia on Thursday night for the talks, reported the AlJazeera.
This visit comes after five months of UN brokered talks at Sanaa with the Saudi Officials. Though the talks lapsed last October, it is understood to be largely ongoing. The talks on ceasefire is expected to centre around – salaries of the Yemeni employees, the opening of airports and ports, the release of all prisoners and detained people, the return of foreigners, reconstruction of the country and a political solution, the Reuters said.
After the war which began in 2014, this is the first official visit of the Houthi officials to Saudi Arabia. The Houthis which is aligned with Iran had ousted the official Government of Yemen, which is the government that the Saudi Arabia supports.
Oman, which shares borders with Yemen have been trying for a solution to the conflict situation for years which involves Saudi Arabia and Iran. Though Iran says that the country supports the Houthis diplomatically and politically only, without any military aid, seizures of weapons contradicts the claim, said AlJazeera.
Earlier China had made a moved towards bringing the regional heavyweights, Saudi Arabia and Iran on to the talking tables. The China brokered deal, which came after seven years have added more momentum to the ceasefire process.
Majed al-Madhaji, the head of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies think tank said that, “on the political level, it is an advanced step to end Saudi Arabia’s direct role in Yemen and for the Houthis to acknowledge its role as a mediator,” even with the Houthis being a party to the conflict. There is also a view that Saudi Arabia wants to end its engagement with this conflict as it has been long and exhaustive, the AlJazeera reported.
The present condition can actually be traced back to 2011, the BBC said, when a popular uprising led to the shift in power from Yemen’s authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh, to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. The shift in power came along with increasing problems for the country at the economic and security front, giving way to rebels occupying more leverage in the country. The Houthis took advantage of this situation and in 2014, after controlling Saada province and seizing control of capital Sanaa, they ousted President Hadi, with the President fleeing the country in march 2015. An alarmed Saudi Arabia, enters the conflict zone, wit the fear of Yemen becoming Iran’s satellite state.
