A Houthi leader acknowledges holding direct meetings with US and Saudi officials
English - Tuesday 10 August 2021 الساعة 11:40 am
Aden, NewsYemen:
The Houthi militia acknowledged several meetings that brought its negotiating delegation together with American and Saudi officials, in the first admission by the Iran-backed militia, which has repeatedly denied any such meetings.
Abdul-Malik Al-Ajri, a member of the Houthi negotiating delegation, said: We have met with the American envoy and with the Saudis more than once.
The Houthi leader added, in the context of statements published by Al Masirah TV, "There was hope for a solution, but we were surprised by clear obstacles."
Houthi spokesman, Muhammad Abdul Salam, denied, in exclusive statements to "Sputnik" in early March, any direct meeting with US officials in the Sultanate of Oman, but rather communicated with them through the Omani side.
Reuters quoted two well-informed sources as saying that senior US officials held the first direct meeting with officials from the Yemeni Houthi movement in the Sultanate of Oman.
The two sources added that the discussions, which were not announced by any party, took place in Muscat on February 26, between the US envoy to Yemen, Timothy Linderking, and the Houthi chief negotiator, Muhammad Abdul Salam.
Since Lederking was appointed envoy to Yemen, he has visited the region in February, May and August 2021. Where Muscat was one of his important stations.
According to a statement by the US State Department in early May, Lenderking is in the Sultanate of Oman for talks that will focus on ensuring the regular and unimpeded access of goods and humanitarian aid to parts of Yemen, as well as supporting a permanent ceasefire and the parties’ transition to a political process.
But the US State Department, a month after the previous statement, at the conclusion of Linderking’s visit to the region, held the Houthis with great responsibility for refusing to engage meaningfully in the ceasefire and to take steps to resolve the nearly seven-year conflict that has caused unimaginable suffering to the Yemeni people. The Houthis, instead, are continuing their devastating assault on Marib, which the international community condemns and leaves the Houthis increasingly isolated.
