Intra-Yemeni Talks Edge Closer to Unity Government - Delegate

Intra-Yemeni talks are edging closer to forming a national consensus government, military and security committees, as well as a presidential body overseeing the transitional period, Deputy Secretary General of the General People’s Congress (GPC) and former Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Qirbi told Sputnik on Sunday.

KUWAIT CITY (Sputnik) – UN-mediated conflict settlement talks have been ongoing in Kuwait since April 21. The GPC delegation represents the interest of Yemen’s ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh who backs Shiite Houthi rebels against incumbent President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

"The most important in these consultations is that the negotiators began to put some foundations, in particular with regard to the military and security higher committee, and its role after the signing of the peace agreement," Qirbi, the talks' participant, said.

He noted that the committee’s initial role would be to secure the Yemeni capital of Sanaa under the control of Shiite Houthi rebels, its surroundings and other cities.

The delegate, who held the foreign ministerial office for 14 years under the incumbent president’s predecessor, described the dialogue as positive and said that the parties were approaching toward common solutions and a convergence of views.

Qirbi said the establishment of a military committee would be announced simultaneously with the formation of a national consensus government.

Reports emerged earlier that the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed to exchange prisoners ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on June 6 this year.

Sputnik reported late Friday that an agreement to form a national unity government comprising representatives of all conflicting sides in Yemen has been reached, adding that a peace agreement was expected to be signed soon.