US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday presented a new plan to restart peace talks in Yemen, which he said is “fair and sensible approach” and has the backing of Gulf states.
In a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir in Jeddah, Kerry said the goal is to form a unity government. “We agreed on a renewed approach to negotiations with both a security and political track simultaneously working in order to provide a comprehensive settlement,” he said.
The plan would allow participation of the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militia in exchange for their ending violence and transferring of heavy weapons to a “third party.”
“The final agreement ... would include in the first phase a swift formation of a new national unity government, the withdrawal of forces from (the capital) Sanaa and other areas and the transfer of all heavy weapons including ballistic missiles, from the Houthis and forces aligned to them to a third party,” he said.
Kerry lamented that the Yemen conflict had “gone on too long and needed to end.”
He expressed concern over the lack of response by the international community to the crisis in Yemen. He also pledged $189 million in a new US aid for the humanitarian crisis marring the country, considered the poorest in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia had been the biggest consistent donor of humanitarian relief aid to Yemen since the escalation of the war in Yemen in April 2015.
 
Right to self-defense
Kerry urged for a solution for Yemen as soon as possible but said such a resolution should be reached with respect to Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty.
He said Saudi Arabia has the right for self-defense in the backdrop of missiles being launched by the Iran-backed militias into the Kingdom’s territories.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, meanwhile, told reporters following discussions with Kerry that a “road map” was envisaged for the UN envoy for Yemen to use when resuming talks with the southern Arabian Peninsula country’s warring sides.
Both the United States and Saudi Arabia have further lent their support and urged for the resumption of peace talks between Yemen’s two warring sides during the press conference.
Kerry arrived in Jeddah from Nigeria for discussions with Saudi leaders and other Gulf Arab states and will also update them on US meetings with Russia addressing military cooperation in Syria, a senior US official said ahead of the talks.
Earlier, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, who is also deputy premier and interior minister, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also defense minister, held talks with Kerry into the early hours of Thursday morning on ways to end Yemen’s conflict and resume peace talks between the warring sides.?Kerry arrived in Jeddah from Nigeria for discussions with Saudi leaders and other Gulf Arab states and will also update them on US meetings with Russia addressing military cooperation in Syria, a senior US official said ahead of the talks.?The talks come as Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered one of Daesh’s last strongholds on the Turkish-Syrian border, in Turkey’s first major US-backed incursion into its southern neighbor.

Source: Arab News