Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdelmalak Al-Mekhlafi said on Monday that the Kuwait-hosted inter-Yemeni consultations have neither been suspended or ended, affirming that they would conclude as scheduled, on August 7th. Speaking at a news conference at Kuwait International Airport, Al-Mekhlafi said the government's delegation would return to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after signing the draft arrangement forwarded by the United Nations (UN) to resolve the Yemeni crisis. Moreover, Al-Mekhlafi called on Houthis and Ali Saleh's followers to sign the blueprint to substantiate how much they are serious with respect to achieving peace and security in Yemen, as well as ending the war and its destructive effects through arms handover, withdrawal from cities and reinstating the State institutions. Further, he noted that the government's delegation's return to Kuwait to resume the peace consultations hinges on the opposing party's signing of the concord, presented by the UN envoy Ismail Ould Al-Cheikh Ahmed. "Now that we have signed a draft arrangement, the ball is no longer in our court but in theirs", he said, underscoring the importance of announcing in the end of consultations which party is responsible of aborting a final agreement. "We are adamant about restoring peace to Yemen, an attitude apparent in our step to sign," Al-Mekhlafi noted. He also added that the government's delegation encountered various difficulties due to the opposing sides' "capricious" nature. Despite various negative aspects we have noted on the draft arrangement, but we have come to calls from our people, the UN envoy and the world community to achieve peace and security in our country, he added. For instance, we have always called for weapons surrender, reinstating the State's institutions and withdrawal from cities, but eventually agreed on a gradual withdrawal from major cities, etc Sanaa, Al-Hodeida and Taiz as a first step to support the efforts of the UN envoy and alleviate the sufferings of the people of Yemen. Speaking on the future of these talks, the Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister said "we have made progress towards finding a lasting solution to the conflict," he said. He also described the draft accord as encompassing all political issues.
