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U.N. diplomat pushes to hold Yemen talks, Arab air strikes pounds Houthis

01 June 2015 19:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Efforts to bring Yemen's warring factions together to discuss their conflict have made some progress, officials said on Monday, as warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition mounted more air strikes against the dominant Houthi group, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Neighboring Oman is trying to end more than two months of fighting that has killed nearly 2,000 people by mediating talks between U.S. officials and representatives of the Houthi group.

Political sources in Oman, Yemen's eastern neighbor, confirmed on Monday that diplomats were brokering the talks between Houthi and U.S. officials at a hotel in the capital Muscat aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Independent politicians in the Yemeni capital Sanaa said the talks have succeeded in narrowing gaps between the Houthis and the exiled government to pave the way for eventual United Nations-backed negotiations in Geneva.

"There's progress in the talks toward an agreement on a long truce and reviving political dialogue," one politician told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Oman is the only member of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council not taking part in the military campaign in Yemen, and has played a role as a peacemaker in the strife-torn region.

The United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has also achieved progress in efforts to convene talks in Geneva, Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi said.

He said progress was made on "the date, agenda and framework for the Geneva talks and the parties that attend the meeting" and that a formal announcement was expected within hours.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed was in the Saudi capital Riyadh for talks with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, political figures and the government headed by Vice President Khaled Bahah. Before that, he held talks with Houthi leaders in Sanaa.

Previous plans for talks in Switzerland were postponed due to objections by the Riyadh-based Yemeni government, which wants the Houthis to quit Yemen's main cities and recognize Hadi's authority before speaking to them.

An Arab alliance has been bombing the Houthis since late March in a bid to restore Hadi to power. The Sunni Muslim states see the Houthis as a proxy for the influence of archrival Iran in impoverished Yemen.

The United States, the main ally of the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, has provided the kingdom with weapons and intelligence during its war against the Houthis.

The Houthis want a ceasefire as a precondition for talks, and the Yemeni politicians say the U.N. envoy has made progress toward an agreement on a five-week ceasefire and the release by the Houthis of several detained pro-Hadi figures - including the defense minister and the president's brother.