GCC ministers support Yemeni presidential council’s call to negotiate with Houthis
The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states expressed their support for the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council’s call to start negotiations with the Houthi militias with the aim of establishing peace in Yemen, the council said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Council expressed its full support for the Presidential Leadership Council and its supporting entities to enable it to exercise its duties in implementing effective policies and initiatives that would achieve security and stability in Yemen,” the statement read.
The GCC council also welcomed the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council’s call to start negotiating with the Houthis under the supervision of the United Nations to reach a final and comprehensive political solution, in a way that preserves Yemen’s unity and integrity, respects its sovereignty and independence and rejects any interference in its internal affairs.
The joint statement came after the minister’s meeting in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.
Earlier on Thursday, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced his decision to transfer his powers to the newly formed Presidential Leadership Council.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with the newly formed council and the Kingdom urged the Yemeni body to start negotiations with the Houthis under UN auspices to end the war.
