Yemen's Ansarullah to join peace talks in Kuwait

Yemen’s Ansarullah movement say they will be joining talks with representatives of the country’s former government in Kuwait after previously avoiding participation due to truce violations by Saudi Arabia.

According to the reports, they agreed to join the UN-mediated talks after receiving assurances from the UN special envoy to Yemen that the ceasefire would be respected, head of Ansarullah political council Saleh Ali al-Sammad said Wednesday.

Mahdi al-Mashat, a representative of Ansarullah leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said the fighters had been assured that the agenda for the talks would be “clear and tackle issues that could help achieve peaceful solutions.”

“We will have the right to suspend our participation” if the assurances are not fulfilled, he warned.

A representative of the Ansarullah-allied General People's Congress party, Yasser Alawadi, said on Twitter that his delegation would travel to Kuwait on Thursday.

A Western diplomat in Kuwait has said the assurances had been given by representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

They had sent a message to the Houthis, saying they understand their fears” and urging them to “quickly join” the talks, the French news agency AFP reported.

The talks had been scheduled for Monday, but the Houthi delegation did not participate, citing violations by Saudi Arabia.

SS