U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L)
The United Nations chief will join the final day of peace talks on Thursday between Yemen's warring parties that have brought agreement on reopening Sanaa airport and restarting oil exports but no deal on a strategic Red Sea port.
Western nations are pressing the Iran-aligned Houthi group and the Saudi-backed government to agree confidence-building steps for a political process to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
The two parties have not agreed on the status of the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions, which is the thorniest issue along with a transitional governing body.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived late on Wednesday in Sweden, where the talks are being held.
He and his special envoy, Martin Griffiths, are due to announce results of the U.N.-sponsored talks, the first in more than two years, and a date for a new round of consultations.
The Houthis control most population centres, including Hodeidah and the capital, Sanaa, from where the group ousted the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2014, leading a Sunni Muslim Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia to intervene in 2015.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah said Wednesday his country is ready to host the signing ceremony for an agreement on ending the war in Yemen if the parties involved reach a consensus.Al-Sabah made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl."We are ready to stand next to our Yemeni brothers when they think they are ready to end the war, reach peace and sign the [peace] agreement, which we hope Kuwait will host," he said."We don't believe that there is any alternative other than a political solution to end the Yemeni crisis," he added, noting that Kuwait had hosted talks on Yemen two years ago.Kneissl said dialogue was the only option to resolve the Yemeni war.UN-brokered peace talks on Yemen kicked off Dec. 6 in Sweden's capital, Stockholm.In negotiations led by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels tackled disputed issues, including the release of prisoners, the battle over Hudaydah, the Yemeni Central Bank, the blockade of Taiz, humanitarian relief and Sana'a airport.Progress was made on the issue of prisoners. The delegations are expected to leave Sweden on Thursday.Yemen's warring parties agree to reopen Sanaa airportPrevious peace effortsTalks between Yemen’s warring parties in the Swiss cities of Biel and Geneva in 2015 and in Kuwait in 2016 ended in failure.UN-sponsored peace talks scheduled to be held on Sept. 6 in Geneva also fell through as the Houthis did not take part.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, and the key port city of Hudaydah.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.
Kuwait ready to host signing of Yemen peace deal
Both sides had received from the United Nations a "final package" of agreements on the status of Hodeidah, Sanaa airport, supporting the impoverished country's central bank and a political framework.
Sources familiar with the talks said they had agreed to reopen Sanaa airport with international flights stopping at government-held airports in Aden or Sayun in the south for inspection before flying in or out of the capital. The United Nations would oversee safety procedures, a Houthi delegate said.
Deals were reached for a prisoner swap and resumption of oil and gas exports to help shore up central bank coffers. Revenues would be used to pay salaries across Yemen, delegates said.
Griffiths is trying to avert a full-scale assault on Hodeidah, where coalition forces have massed on the outskirts of the port that handles most of Yemen's commercial goods and aid supplies.
He has proposed that both sides withdraw from the city and place it under control of an interim entity with international monitors deployed.
The parties agree to a U.N. role in the port, the Houthis' main supply line, but differ on who should run the city. The Houthis want Hodeidah declared a neutral zone, while Hadi's government believes the city should fall under its control.
Guterres called Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to discuss Yemen, state media said.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, leaders of the coalition fighting to restore Hadi's government, want to end their involvement in a costly war that has bogged down in military stalemate for years.
Saudi Arabia is facing increased Western scrutiny over its activities in the region following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country's Istanbul embassy in October.
The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to move ahead with a resolution to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition in the war.