Yemen's FM reconfirms rejection of UN peace plan

By Mohammed al-Shabiri

SANAA, Yemen

Yemen's Foreign Minister Abdul Malik al-Mikhlafi reiterated Tuesday his government's rejection of a UN peace plan suggested two weeks ago by the UN envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

The minister's remarks came during a meeting in Kuwait with Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, according to Yemen's official news agency, SABA.

Al-Mikhlafi confirmed that his government was keen to reach a comprehensive solution to end the war and stop the bloodshed in his country, SABA said, adding the Yemeni foreign minister reiterated his country's rejection of any initiative or peace plan not based on "terms of the Gulf initiative and the outcomes of the National Dialogue, and UN Security Council Resolution 2216."

The Yemeni minister also reportedly hailed what he described the "considerable efforts made by the State of Kuwait while hosting the peace talks of Yemen."

This is the first visit to the country by a Yemeni official since the suspension of Kuwait peace talks in August.

The UN envoy to Yemen said before the UN Security Council, late in October, that his peace plan envisaged the appointment of a new Yemeni vice-president and the formation of a national unity government.

The plan also calls for the establishment of military and security "committees" tasked with overseeing the eventual surrender of weapons by the Houthis and their eventual withdrawal from the cities of Sanaa, Hodeida and Taiz.

Last Saturday, Hadi voiced his rejection of the peace plan, saying it "rewards the putschists [i.e., the Houthis] and sows the seeds of war".

Earlier this year, Hadi’s government and the Houthis engaged in two rounds of UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait, neither of which registered any breakthroughs.

Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

The conflict escalated in March of last year when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Muslim allies launched a massive military campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Since the conflict erupted two years ago, thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the violence and some 3 million forced to flee their homes.