RIYADH (AFP) -
A
delegation of Shiite Huthi rebels from Yemen is holding talks in
Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Monday, ahead of a
planned ceasefire and renewed Yemeni peace negotiations.
"The
Huthi delegation is in Saudi Arabia and the discussions are ongoing. I
believe we have made good progress," Jubeir told reporters.
Saudi
Arabia is leading an Arab coalition that has been bombing the rebels for
over a year, in support of Yemen's internationally recognised President
Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
"Talks with them are ongoing with the aim of finding a political solution for the Yemen crisis," Jubeir said.
Saudi
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was the first to reveal the
presence of a Huthi delegation in Riyadh, in an interview with Bloomberg
published Friday.
"There is significant progress in negotiations,
and we have good contacts with the Huthis, with a delegation currently
in Riyadh. We believe that we are closer than ever to a political
solution in Yemen," the prince said.
The revelation came ahead of a
UN-brokered truce slated to enter into effect on April 10, followed by
talks in Kuwait on April 18.
Previous negotiations have failed
and earlier ceasefires were not respected, but analysts say the
prospects of a deal have improved.
Saudi Arabia and the
Iran-backed Huthi rebels have recently exchanged detainees and agreed
through tribal mediation to ease tension along the two countries'
border.
The Huthis seized Sanaa in September 2014 then advanced
south, raising fears in Riyadh that the rebels would extend the
influence of Shiite Iran in the kingdom's southern neighbour.
The United Nations says about 6,300 people have been killed in the war, more than half of them civilians.
© 2016 AFP
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