Yemeni FM: We agree to joint UN supervision of Hodeidah port

Yemen Minister of Foreign Affairs Khaled al-Yamani said on Saturday that Hodeidah port is a part of Yemen sovereignty and that the legitimate government agrees to a coordinated supervision of the port with the United Nations.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, al-Yamani pointed out that that the government’s delegation – to UN peace talks in Stockholm, Sweden, which started on Thursday – agreed to the consultations’ frame and the need to build confidence between all parties as a first step in the road map to implement peace in the war ravaged country.

Also al-Yamani said in an interview with AFP on Saturday, that the government-controlled city of Aden will be home to the country’s main airport.

He said: “We are ready to reopen Sanaa international airport today, but we have a vision that Aden will be the sovereign airport of Yemen.”

The UN peace talks which entered its third day, tackled - according to a participating source – the implementation of a program to release prisoners held by both the pro-Iranian Houthi militias and by the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi.

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The consultations also tackled the formation of three joint teams from the government delegation and delegation of the Houthis, according to a signed agreement between the two sides.

The second team discusses ending the militias’ siege for Taiz, while the third team discusses the economic file, the consistency of the Central Bank work and securing the supply of public financial revenues from the Houthi militias’ areas to the Central Bank in Aden, in return of paying the salaries of the government employees in all Yemeni areas.

Houthi militias continue with their hostile activities

On the military level, Yemeni military sources asserted that the Houthi militias continue their terrorist and hostile activities using booby-trapped boats to threaten navigation and international maritime south of the Red Sea.

The sources confirmed the reports received from Hodeidah that the Arab coalition supporting the legitimate government in Yemen, destroyed two boats which the Houthi militias were preparing to carry out terrorist operations.

The reports also mentioned that the two targeted boats were close to an empty area far from any fishing ports, where the Houthis try to hide in order to avoid a military response by the Arab coalition.

The Yemeni consultations in Stockholm are held in private meetings with each party by the UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths.

Griffiths is trying to converge the views by moving between the two delegations and holding talks with each side to discuss the raised issues.