RIYADH — Yemeni media reported Monday that Southern Transitional Council (STC) President Aidarous Al-Zubaidi and several senior council leaders are heading to the Saudi capital Riyadh. According to the reports, Al-Zubaidi and members of the council are set to meet Saudi officials to discuss developments in Yemen's southern governorates. The talks are expected to focus on current political and security developments and coordination on issues linked to the present stage. The reports come after Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh arrived in Riyadh two days ago and met the Saudi defense minister. On Sunday, Presidential Leadership Council member and STC vice president Abdulrahman Al-Muharrami, also known as Abu Zara'a, arrived in Riyadh and also met Prince Khalid bin Salman. In a post on X, Al-Muharrami said the meeting was marked by a spirit of understanding, with an exchange of views on developments in Yemen, foremost among them the southern issue, and discussions on ways to coordinate and strengthen joint efforts to support stability in Yemen and safeguard regional security. Riyadh is also set to host a comprehensive conference bringing together all southern Yemeni factions for dialogue aimed at discussing fair solutions to the southern cause. The initiative comes in response to a request by Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, who formally asked Saudi Arabia to host talks to help resolve the crisis in the south. Al-Alimi said he hopes the conference will include all southern components, forces and figures without exception, including the STC, to ensure an inclusive dialogue. His request followed appeals from southern groups urging him to ask Saudi Arabia to host and sponsor the conference in Riyadh, stressing the need to take into account the historical, political and social dimensions of the southern issue without excluding or marginalizing any faction or leader.
