Yemen Monitor/Aden/Exclusive:
The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported on Tuesday that the United States has given Saudi Arabia the green light to revive a peace agreement with the Houthis in Yemen.
The newspaper added in a report – seen by “Yemen Monitor” – that Saudi Arabia had pressed for the revival of the peace agreement with the Houthis after it was suspended due to Red Sea attacks.
The outlines of the UN roadmap for peace in Yemen were agreed upon in early December, but progress was immediately suspended as the Houthis escalated their campaign of attacks in the Red Sea in what they described as an act of solidarity with Palestine.
The campaign, which the Houthi leadership estimated a week ago at 112 attacks on ships, has led to a significant decline in maritime trade through the Red Sea and a rise in insurance costs.
It now appears that Saudi Arabia, supported by the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, wants to move forward with the roadmap, even though it could lead to the delivery of large sums of money to the Houthis, who would also be given a permanent seat in the proposed national unity government.
In a meeting on Monday, Grundberg told the UN-recognized government in Aden and the Houthi opposition that peace talks must move forward. He added that he had told the Houthis that he did not see the roadmap being signed if the Red Sea attacks continued. Grundberg later told the UN Security Council that “despite the conflict, a peaceful and just solution remains possible.”
Leaders of the Aden-based government sounded the alarm on Tuesday, saying that any roadmap must be “recalibrated” to be acceptable to them.
The Guardian says the UN roadmap largely reflects previous private bilateral peace talks between the Saudis and the Houthis, including large payments to the Houthis to compensate for unpaid public salaries and an increase in resources provided to northern Yemen, but the deal was never offered to the UN-backed government.
The Houthis now appear to want to sign the agreement, either with the UN or bilaterally with the Saudis.
