Saudi Arabia informed Yemenis of decision to end war: Reports

Saudi Arabia has reportedly informed the so-called Yemeni presidential leadership council of the decision to put an end to the devastating war in Yemen after eight years of aggression.

Citing informed sources, Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV network reported on Friday that Saudi officials had recently held a closed-door meeting with the chairman and members of the council, which was established last April after the resignation of ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, to inform them about the peace plan.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman briefed the council on Riyadh’s solution to end the crisis in Yemen, sources said, adding that the Saudis’ vision is to renew the existing UN-brokered truce for a year in an understanding with the Sana’a government.

Riyadh will pledge to pay the salaries of public servants, open Hodeidah port, and help settle the currency problems of Yemen in exchange for Sana’a’s acceptance of the truce, according to the report.

The renewal of the truce will be bound to an official announcement by Riyadh about the end of the war and the end of Saudi interference in Yemen’s affairs, sources added.

According to the report, Yemeni talks with the supervision of the United Nations and the support of Riyadh will start following the end of the war and will aim to clinch an agreement on a two-year-long transitional period.

The sources stressed that although Riyadh is still studying and discussing the plan, its decision is “almost final.”

Ansarullah optimistic about peace agreement

On the other side of the ledger, and reacting to the reports, the spokesman for Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement said they will continue efforts to end the aggression and establish peace.

“We pursue our efforts through negotiations to end the aggression and lift the siege, and we hope that the efforts will be crowned with a peace agreement,” Al Mayadeen quoted Mohammed Abdul Salam, who is also head of the Sana’a negotiating delegation, as saying.

Three phases of peace plan

Meanwhile, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the new peace plan is set to take effect in three phases. Citing a Yemeni source, the Saudi-owned media outlet reported that the first phase of the peace deal would include a nationwide ceasefire, the reopening of all land, air, and sea routes, the merger of the central banks, and comprehensive prisoner exchanges.

The parties would then hold direct negotiations to establish how the Yemenis envision a state, followed by a transitional period.

The source expected a ceasefire to be declared in the coming days, for the truce to be consolidated and for fighting to stop at battlefronts. Other arrangements will need weeks to be implemented.

MG