North AmericaSaudi ArabiaWest AsiaYemen

Yemen’s Houthis: Claims of Saudi readiness for peace ‘US-UK baseless propaganda’

Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement says recent reports suggesting Saudi Arabia's willingness to make peace are mere "baseless propaganda” spread by the Riyadh regime's allies, namely Britain and the United States.

In a post on his Twitter account, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam stressed that Saudi Arabia is waging the bloody war on Yemen using American and British weapons.

“Aggression and siege are a negation of peace,” he wrote. “Reports on Saudi Arabia’s readiness for peace are just US-UK baseless propaganda.”

“We are saying to them, you are launching the aggression, the war in Yemen is launched by your weapons. You are not worthy of peace,” Abdulsalam said of the US and Britain. 

The remarks came two days after General Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), claimed that Riyadh wanted “a negotiated solution” to end the Yemen war.

“It’s my judgment based on dialogue, mil-to-mil dialogue within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and meetings I’ve had there, that Saudi Arabia genuinely seeks a negotiated end to the conflict in Yemen,” he tweeted.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in order to reinstall a Riyadh-backed former regime and crush the Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.

The Western-backed Saudi military aggression, coupled with a naval blockade, has plunged Yemen into what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

‘Saudi, UAE tools in hands of US, UK’

On Saturday, Yemeni Information Minister Dhaifallah al-Shami said the US and Britain are playing a  game to control Yemen through Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“The Americans are the ones who declared war on Yemen, and we know that if the Americans talk about peace, they seek to escalate and impose hegemony under the name of peace,” he told the al-Masirah TV channel.

Shami also accused the United Nations of contributing to the siege on Yemen, noting that statements issued by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths are consistent with those of the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition.

“They are trying to hold us responsible for the blockade while they control the sea and are holding ships and pressuring the people with economic war,” he said.

‘Alleged Iran interference, a pretext to continue war’

Separately, the Yemeni ambassador to Iran emphasized that the invaders are using the alleged Iranian interference as a pretext to continue their war on his country. 

Ibrahim al-Dailami told al-Masirah that the Islamic Republic has put forth several proposals for a ceasefire and left the Yemenis to their own to negotiate without outside intervention.

“Everyone knows that the Yemeni decision is made in Sana’a, and the forces of aggression must realize that the entire Yemeni people are in a battle to defend the sovereignty of Yemen,” he added.

The Yemeni envoy further complained that regional organizations are biased towards the forces of aggression and thus no longer fit to be a mediator in any negotiations.

“The United Nations is one of the most important reasons for the continuation of the aggression, and the performance of its envoy to Yemen is suspicious. The body is not suitable for solving any problem in the world, especially in Yemen,” he said.

Back to top button