UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths broke the silence that accompanied talks he kicked off since he assumed his new mission last March by uncovering that both the legitimate government and rebels
confirmed their willingness to resume negotiations that collapsed in August 2016.
“President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in Aden and chief negotiator of the Houthi rebels Mohammed Abdul-Salam in Muscat have confirmed to me their willingness to come to the table to restart negotiations.I think it's long overdue that this should take place. It’s been about two years since the last talks on Yemen," he said.
Griffiths added that it was still too early to clarify the schedule and details of peace negotiations.
The UN envoy said he is currently working on two tracks to solve the situation in Yemen: First, the situation in Hodeidah and second, to find a comprehensive political solution.
Griffiths said that although he finds it important to avoid any attack on the port city, he believes that a comprehensive solution is the most essential.
Speaking in a UN radio interview late on Thursday, the envoy said it was "very clear to me from the discussion with all parties, including the coalition, that the solution to the issue of Hodeidah is tied up
intrinsically with the restart of political negotiation."
For his part, Yemen's Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Yamani warned on Friday from “reviving the buried Kerry initiative.”
He told Asharq Al-Awsat there would be no political procedures before UN actions.
Moving to the Hodeida formula, Griffiths said, “at the moment we are still in negotiations as to whether a UN role would help avoid an attack, and more importantly, and this is where I think we’re going,
whether in fact the restart of negotiations will mean the attack on Hodeidah or the move towards war will be avoided."
The Yemeni Foreign Minister said, “we have already expressed our clear position from this issue via the Arab Coalition. We cannot accept the implementation of one item of the Hodeida initiative, but the entire
items, which should start by the Houthi withdrawal from the port and the city.”
