Secretary of State John Kerry has revealed a plan to restart talks to end the ongoing civil war in Yemen with help from Saudi Arabia.
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John Kerry said there is a “new plan” aimed at ending conflict in Yemen, which will see participation of the Houthi militia group in a unity government.
KELEMEN: Secretary Kerry says he’s raised concerns about civilian casualties with his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, who says his country is being careful in its targeting unlike the Houthi rebels, who he says are laying siege to towns and villages, using children as soldiers and getting weapons from Iran.
Kerry added: “It is not a threat just to Saudi Arabia; it is a threat to the region, it is a threat to the United States, and it can not continue”.
“It is a threat to the United States and it can not continue”.
Kerry urged the Yemeni minority Houthis to accept the new initiative, saying both political and military solutions to the Yemeni crisis are possible options by Gulf countries.
Human Rights Watch has alleged that Saudi-led coalition airstrikes using us -supplied bombs killed at least 97 civilians in northwestern Yemen on March 15, 2016.
According to Gulf officials, Riyadh believes that a better negotiating position can only be obtained through gains on the battlefield.
Commenting on the new agreement, Jubeir said: “There is no argument for any party to say that the proposed formula now is incomplete, therefore, Houthis and Saleh must seize the opportunity to reach a peaceful solution”. The rebels have previously said that the terms of the UN Security Council resolution 2216, which calls for them to give up their arms, are unacceptable.
Kerry flew to Jeddah on Wednesday night from Nigeria.
Kerry’s meeting with King Salman lasted roughly half an hour.
Moscow and Washington are on opposite sides of the five-year-old Syria conflict but have a common foe in Daesh, and they have been in contact on efforts to establish military cooperation against the militants.
The fight between the Houthis and the government, which was formed in November 2014, has created a security and political vacuum that has been used by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the more militant Islamic State (ISIL), to grow their strength and influence.
United Nations -sponsored talks to end the 18-months of infighting collapsed earlier this month, when the Iran-allied Houthi began fighting again with the supporters of displaced interim President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Tobias Ellwood meets global foreign ministers for discussions on Yemen.
Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani attended the meeting. Oman has played a key role in fostering the talks with the Houthis and their allies.
The US has backed the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen with intelligence for targeting, airborne refuelling for jets, and legal consultation to ensure that the airstrikes conform to global law.
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“There have been numerous airstrikes by Saudi Arabia, according to reliable reports, that have been indiscriminate because they killed civilians, and one of the foundational principles of global humanitarian law is distinction-distinction between combatants and noncombatants” said George Andreopoulos, professor of political science at the City University of New York Graduate Center and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
