Yemeni government casts doubt on UN peace talks

Yemen’s government has expressed doubts over UN-backed efforts to end its conflict with Shiite Houthi rebels who have seized control of large parts of the country.
The government still has “fundamental differences” with the Houthis over “their rejection ... of measures that are necessary to put an end to their plot,” it said in a statement late on Friday.
Yemen’s warring parties are taking a two-week break from peace talks in Kuwait that have made little headway since they began on April 21.
The government, supported by a coalition headed by Saudi Arabia, demands that the Iran-backed rebels withdraw from cities including the capital, Sanaa, and give back arms they have seized.
It wants to re-establish its authority across the entire country and restart a political transition that was interrupted when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014.
The rebels have conditioned their withdrawal on both sides agreeing on a new president to manage the transition.
“Due to the stubbornness (of the rebels) and their procrastination, it was not possible to agree on any item on the agenda” of the Kuwait talks, the government delegation said.
The negotiators will spend the next two weeks discussing their positions before reconvening on July 15, UN mediator Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Wednesday.
He said they would then return to Kuwait “with practical recommendations on how to implement the necessary mechanisms that will enable them to sign a peace accord.”

Source: Arab News