Saudi Arabia hails ‘positive’ peace talks with Yemenis

Saudi Arabia has welcomed the “positive results” of talks with a delegation from Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement aimed at bringing an end to the kingdom’s eight-year war on its southern neighbor.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry supported a political solution to the Yemen conflict in a statement released on Wednesday, after the Yemeni team, along with an Omani mediator, returned to Sana’a following five days of talks with Saudi officials in Riyadh.

The ministry said it welcomed “the positive results of the serious discussions regarding reaching a road map to support the peace path in Yemen.”

Riyadh, it added, “continues to stand with Yemen and its brotherly people and … encourages the Yemeni parties to sit at the negotiating table to reach a comprehensive and lasting political solution … under the supervision of the United Nations.”

The Yemeni delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia last week. It was the first such official visit to the kingdom since the war broke out in 2015.

Reports said the Saudi-appointed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in Yemen and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) had no role in the Riyadh negotiations.

The Yemeni delegation met with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud.

In an X post, Prince Khalid said that during the meeting he had “emphasized the Kingdom’s support for Yemen and reaffirmed our commitment to promoting dialogue among all parties.”