United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths concluded on Thursday his tour to the region by meeting Houthi leaders in Oman’s capital Muscat in the hope of saving his mission in Yemen.
Griffiths had kicked off the tour by holding talks in Riyadh with Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen last month in a bid to repair strained ties with President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who had accused him of bias towards the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
Last Monday, Griffiths met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his deputy Sergei Vershinin in Moscow before heading to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The UN failed to provide details about the envoy’s tour, except for issuing some routine statements, in the hope that his meetings would salvage his mission and peace efforts in Yemen.
The militias said Thursday that Griffiths met with several insurgent leaders including Houthi spokesman and the group's acting foreign minister Mohamed Abdel Salam Fleeta in the Omani capital.
The Houthi version of the Saba news agency claimed that Fleeta confirmed willingness to continue working on issues agreed upon in Sweden last December, including the truce in Taiz and the release of all prisoners and detainees.
It also claimed that the two sides discussed the political, humanitarian and economic situation.
Griffiths’ office did not announce any new arrangements or any new visits to Sanaa to meet the Houthi leader in an attempt to exert pressure on the militias ahead of discussing the situation of security forces currently managing the Hodeidah ports.
Yemeni observers believe it is impossible to achieve any progress on Hodeidah as long as the militias continue to violate the Sweden deal and show no desire for peace.
The Yemeni Vice President asserts that the government is ready to engage with Griffiths’ efforts and implement the Stockholm Agreement, on condition that the other parties respect the deal’s substance in line with the three references and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
