The US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that Houthi Ansarullah revolutionaries are ready to observe a ceasefire in Yemen starting this week but the regime of fugitive Yemeni president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi swiftly dismissed the plan.
The Ansarullah revolutionaries had agreed to a "cessation of hostilities beginning on November 17, provided the other party implements the same commitment," said Kerry.
He was speaking in Abu Dhabi a day after meeting Houthi negotiators in Oman for talks aimed at finding a durable political settlement for the war in Yemen which has killed thousands.
Kerry said the United Arab Emirates and regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia "have both agreed to try to move forwards with this. They believe it makes sense".
"The regime ... of Yemen is not aware of the statements made by Mr. Kerry and does not consider itself committed to them," said Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafi.
Remarks attributed to Kerry "are a bid to derail peace efforts and a bid to reach an agreement with the Houthis without the ... regime," he said.
Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. About 10,000 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. Another 21 million people urgently need health services, according to the United Nations.
The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Six attempts to clinch a ceasefire in Yemen have foundered, including a three-day October truce that fell apart as soon as it went into force to allow aid deliveries to millions homeless and hungry.
Kerry said he met in Oman with a Houthi delegation that travelled there specially to see him and that talks "went into the wee hours of the morning (Tuesday)."
"The Houthis have agreed. The UN envoy is very supportive of wanting to do this. We are on board, the coalition, so to speak. The Saudis and Emiratis," he said.
Kerry also spoke about efforts to set up a new government of national unity in a "safe and secure Sana’a... towards the end of the year."
"The key is now to get everybody on board," he said, adding that it was now essential to implement a UN peace roadmap drawn up by special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
The Hadi regime has already rejected it.
"We have to have the final pieces, but I’m very hopeful that this can really come together, and has the potential to be a real turning point in this conflict, providing that everybody does their part," Kerry added.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
