Former President of Yemen: Dialogue with Saudi Arabia is Necessary

Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president of Yemen and a key ally of the Houthi forces opposing the government, believes that the opposition should engage in negotiations with Saudi Arabia by ending talks with the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. According to AFP, the former president stated during a meeting with members of the Yemen People's Congress, his supportive organization, that they would only participate in future negotiations if the war comes to an end. The peace talks for Yemen, initiated by the United Nations and involving the conflicting parties in Yemen, were held in Switzerland from December 15 for a week and are set to resume in mid-January. Although a temporary ceasefire was supposed to last at least a week during the negotiations, reports of clashes have emerged in recent days. The Swiss negotiations did not yield significant achievements, but during the talks, both sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners, and although they did not fully adhere to the temporary ceasefire, it allowed for some humanitarian aid to be sent to war-torn areas. In this context, Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose delegation was also one of the parties present at the negotiations, emphasized that 'even if the war ends, he is willing to negotiate with Saudi Arabia, not the delegation of the fugitives.' The former president's reference is to the representatives of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi's government. The current president of Yemen, who fled to Saudi Arabia after the Houthi forces captured Sana'a last year, is currently supported by the Saudi-led coalition, which bombards the positions of the opposition. Since the late summer of last year, following the advance of Houthi forces and their capture of the city of Sana'a, Yemen has been engulfed in conflict. However, the fighting intensified significantly after airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition against the positions of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi's government in late winter, resulting in over 5,800 deaths and more than 27,000 injuries, according to the United Nations. Iran, accused of supporting the Houthi forces, has emphasized that the resolution of the Yemen conflict should be pursued through Yemeni-Yemeni dialogues.