UN to hold Yemen peace talks in Geneva

A United Nations conference to re-launch political talks in Yemen will open in Geneva next week, a UN spokesman said Wednesday, despite uncertainty over who will attend the gathering.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the May 28 meeting was to "restore momentum towards a Yemeni-led political transition process" after weeks of conflict that have left 1,850 dead.

UN-brokered peace talks were suspended when Shiite Huthi rebels went on the offensive, capturing the capital Sanaa in September and advancing on Aden in the south, forcing the president to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Ban hopes the Geneva talks "will help Yemen re-launch the political process, reduce the levels of violence and alleviate the intolerable humanitarian situation," said a statement from his spokesman.

The three-day conference was supposed to be announced last week, but the United Nations demanded a halt in fighting for the talks to go ahead.

Instead, the announcement came as Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen intensified after a five-day humanitarian truce expired at the weekend.

It remained unclear if the Huthi rebels planned to attend while Yemen's foreign minister Riyadh Yassin told AFP he would not go to Geneva unless the Huthis withdrew from at least part of the territory seized.

"We are not going unless there is something on the ground," Yassin said in Riyadh. He demanded that a UN Security Council resolution adopted last month that called for the pullback be implemented.

"We will not attend if there is no implementation, at least part of it. If there is no withdrawal from Aden at least, or Taez," Yassin said.

UN spokesman Farhan Haq said it was too early to say who will accept the invitation to attend, but he noted that the UN envoy for Yemen had been laying the groundwork for the conference and that "he believes we have the understanding necessary to proceed."

The UN envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, briefed the Security Council during a closed-door meeting before traveling to Tehran for talks with key officials in Iran, the Huthis' chief backer.

- Huthis under pressure -

Yemen's ambassador to the United Nations, Khaled Alyemany, told reporters that the Geneva talks would be "to convince the Huthis to give up what they are doing and be part of the solution."

Alyemany stressed that a Huthi withdrawal was key for the talks to succeed.

"It seems that they are ready to reach this moment to want to talk, but they don't want to give up what they consider their expansion on the ground," said the ambassador.

In announcing the conference, Ban noted that previous rounds of talks had allowed the parties to "chart a course for democratic change and a new vision for the country."

"Tragically, Yemen has now slid into conflict that risks spilling across its borders and that is having a dramatic impact on civilians, who are paying the highest price," he added.

Ban is expected to attend a formal ceremony on May 28 that will kick off three days of consultations on the way forward.

The Security Council welcomed the announcement of the Geneva talks and backed Ban's call for renewing the humanitarian truce.

The Saudi-led coalition launched an air war on Yemen on March 26 to restore the authority of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

The violence has displaced close to half a million people and raised alarm among aid agencies, which are unable to reach civilians trapped in the fighting.
Source: AFP