Yemeni Gov't Ready For Talks With Houthis For Sake Of Lasting Peace - Ambassador To Russia

ST PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2018) The Yemeni government is prepared to hold talks with Houthi rebels to resolve the ongoing crisis, yet the rebels should agree to participate in the upcoming consultations in Sweden without preconditions, Yemeni Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Salem Wahishi told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Last week, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths announced that both the Yemeni government and the Houthis, officially known as the Ansar Allah movement, were committed to attending the consultations, which the envoy said would reconvene in Sweden shortly.

"The Government of the Republic of Yemen affirms its approval to participate in any upcoming consultations in order to achieve a lasting peace in Yemen based on the agreed references," Wahishi said.

The Yemeni authorities also emphasized the need to exert pressure on the Houthis to make them participate in the UN-led negotiations unconditionally, calling on the international community to take a firm stance against any attempt of the rebels to disrupt the consultations again.

The talks in Sweden will follow the UN attempt to hold peace consultations in Geneva in September, which was abandoned as Houthis said they were prevented from leaving Yemen. The claims were denied by the Saudi-led coalition which controls airspace over Yemen since March 2015.

Yemen has been gripped by a civil war between the government and the Shiite Houthi movement since 2015. The government is backed by the Saudi-led coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes that target areas controlled by the Houthis since March 2015.