The image that appears on the “front page” of the Yemeni media on April 10 is unprecedented. This is the meeting, sheltered by the stone vaults of the presidential palace in Sanaa, between the political leader of the Houthi rebels, Mehdi Al-Machat, and the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber. This visit, made possible by mediation by the Sultanate of Oman, devotes nearly two years of informal discussions between two of the protagonists of the war which is ravaging Yemen. And it crowns the failure of the crown prince of the Saudi kingdom, Mohammed Bin Salman (“MBS”) who, in 2015, went to war to dislodge the pro-Iranian group from the capital.
It is also a direct consequence of the restoration of diplomatic relations announced on March 10 between Saudi Arabia and Iran, sponsor of the Houthi rebellion. The recent rapprochement between the two great regional rivals, Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, has fueled hopes for appeasement in the Middle East, particularly in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula and which suffers one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
“I am visiting Sanaa, with a delegation of our brothers from the Sultanate of Oman to stabilize the truce and the ceasefire”, wrote Mohammed Al-Jaber on Twitter, as the first comment of the Saudi authorities on the visit. The Saudi diplomat also said he was seeking to “support the prisoner exchange process and explore avenues of dialogue between the Yemeni parties to achieve a lasting and comprehensive political solution”. A public announcement of the results of its peace negotiations could take place in the coming days.
Truce, lifting of blockade and discussions
The truce in fighting between rebels and government forces recognized by the international community, which came into effect in April 2022 for six months but was not renewed in October, should be extended over time.
Saudi Arabia should lift the blockade imposed on the ports (including that of Hodeïda, the main outlet on the Red Sea) and on the airport of Sanaa, the capital, under Houthi control, in return for lifting the siege imposed by them on the city of Taiz, the third largest in the country, located in the mountains of western Yemen.
The discussions also focus on another of the main demands of the rebels, reiterated insistently by Mohammed Abdel Salam, the head of the Houthi negotiators: that of “payment of salaries of all civil servants [par le gouvernement et y compris dans les zones houthistes] through oil and gas revenues. whose production fields are beyond their control. Requirements that seem within their reach as Saudi Arabia is in a hurry to turn the page.
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