US wonders why Saleh didn\'t sign yet GCC initiative on Yemen

The United States wondered on Tuesday why Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh did not sign yet the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative to resolve the Yemeni crisis. "The issue in Yemen is to move forward with the democratic transition along the lines of the deal that the GCC put forward, that President Saleh himself said repeatedly that he supported", said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland in a press briefing. "I think the question is better put: Why is President Saleh finding it so difficult to sign this thing so his country can move forward?", she asked. Saleh is still recovering in Saudi Arabia after surviving an attack, reports are conflicted about his possible return to Yemen. Nuland noted that "the democratic process in Yemen should not be held hostage and needs to continue, and we have encouraged Vice President Hadi to continue his conversations with the opposition". "We have encouraged President Saleh wherever in Saudi Arabia, to go ahead and do the necessary, which is to sign the GCC deal and get his country back on track", she concluded.