UN: Yemen Peace Talks to Begin Thursday in Sweden

As the Yemeni government negotiating team arrives in Sweden, the office of a UN official announced on Wednesday, December 5, that a new round of Yemen peace talks will begin tomorrow in Stockholm. Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen, tweeted about the start of these indirect negotiations in Sweden. The 12-member Yemeni government delegation, led by Khaled al-Yamani, the country's foreign minister, arrived in Sweden on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, the negotiating team of the Shiite Houthi militants arrived in Stockholm on Tuesday on a Kuwaiti plane, accompanied by Martin Griffiths from Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. This round of Yemen peace talks comes after the failure of peace negotiations in 2016, where the conflicting parties did not reach an agreement after 106 days of talks. According to AFP, since the military intervention of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia to support the Yemeni government against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, thousands have been killed and 14 million people are on the brink of famine. Before the Houthi delegation's trip to Sweden, the warring parties agreed to evacuate 50 wounded Houthis to Oman and exchanged a number of war prisoners. According to Reuters, these two actions were taken to build trust between the conflicting parties in Yemen. The negotiations will take place in Rimbo, 50 kilometers north of Stockholm. The two negotiating teams will not negotiate face-to-face and directly, and the UN special envoy will work to create the necessary conditions for reaching an agreement on a transitional government in Yemen. Reuters reports that the UN special envoy's efforts will focus on reaching an agreement to reopen Sanaa airport, exchange prisoners, and secure a ceasefire in the Hodeidah port controlled by the Houthis. Achieving agreements on these issues could lead to a broader ceasefire and end the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and Houthi missile attacks on Saudi cities.