Houthi militias doubt the success of peace talks on Yemen expected to be held in Sweden this week, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the spokesman and chief negotiator for the Ansarullah movement, wrote on his official Facebook page Tuesday.
The spokesman hinted that Houthis achieved a moral victory after forcing UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths to abide by their conditions before accepting to travel to Sweden.
On Tuesday, a Houthi delegation arrived in Sweden for the peace talks, the first since 2016. The team was escorted from the capital Sanaa by Griffiths.
Yemeni sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a delegation representing the legitimate government would only travel to Sweden after making sure that a Houthi delegation touches foot in the European country, where peace talks are not expected before Thursday.
A previous round of talks in September collapsed when the Houthis failed to appear.
The government delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani.
Earlier, the government announced reaching, in principal, a UN-sponsored swap deal with Houthis to release more than 3,500 detainees and prisoners.
The deal includes releasing four high-ranking Yemeni officials loyal to the legitimate government: Former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi, military leader Faisal Rajab, President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi's brother Nasser and Mohammed Qahtan, a prominent figure from the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, known as Al Islah Party.
However, the deal’s implementation mechanism hinges on a final agreement expected to be struck during the Sweden peace talks.
“We hope now that the UN-led consultations can begin later this week,” Sweden's deputy UN Ambassador Carl Skau told reporters in New York.
Skau would not confirm the location of the talks, but said they will be “near” the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Talks should focus on opening the Sanaa airport and on lifting the Houthi-imposed siege on Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz.
