Former Yemeni president wants negotiations with Saudi Arabia

Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has expressed his willingness to enter into talks with the Saudi regime, which has been engaged in a massive bombing campaign against his nation since 2015.

"We have no choice but dialogue," AFP quoted Saleh as saying on Tuesday during a meeting of his General People's Congress Party in the capital Sana’a.

"We are ready to go to Riyadh, Khamis Mushait, Muscat or elsewhere to start dialogue and to reach an understanding," Saleh added, referring to cities in Saudi Arabia and neighboring Oman and without elaborating on what sort of understanding he was looking for with Riyadh.

Saleh, however, underlined his opposition to the Saudi-backed resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, insisting that Saudi Arabia would have to find a "new leadership."

Latest tallies indicate that the Saudi war on Yemen has so far killed over 12,000 Yemenis and wounded thousands more. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on the country's public and commercial facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

Nearly 3.3 million Yemeni people, including 2.1 million children, are currently suffering from acute malnutrition, while more than seven million Yemenis are grappling with starvation.

SS