Negotiations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia; Achievements and failures
| One of the most important events in Yemen last year was holding negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Although there have been talks over the past years, Sana'a and Riyadh have not negotiated directly. |
Mehr News Agency, Bin Group International: One of the most important events in Yemen last year was holding negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Although there have been talks over the past years, Sana’a and Riyadh have not negotiated directly. Over the past year, the parties have had direct and continuous negotiations. These negotiations have had achievements and failures that are discussed in this article.
Three milestones for the end of Yemen war
For the end of the war in Yemen, three starting points can be considered in the last two years: April 2022, March 2023 and April 2024. In April 2022, with the mediation of the United Nations, Riyadh and Sana’a agreed on a two-month ceasefire, which was extended twice for a total of 4 months.
Although the UN-negotiated ceasefire expired in October 2023, it was still more or less respected and The violence was greatly reduced. March 2023 was also important because of the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore bilateral relations after 7 years, and it has also had a direct impact on the war in Yemen. In April 2024, a Saudi delegation traveled to Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, to negotiate directly with Ansarullah. During the visit of the Saudi delegation to Sana’a, Mahdi al-Mashat, the head of the Yemeni political council, and Mohammed al-Jaber Saudi, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, met. This was the first visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa after 8 years of war. In addition, the Sana’a government delegation traveled to Riyadh and met and talked with the Saudi authorities.
Negotiations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia; An important development in the 8-year war
The Yemen crisis was one of the most important disputes between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was done before China’s mediation between the two countries. What Saudi Arabia wanted from relations with Iran was the Yemen issue and help to get out of this self-made quagmire, but Iran’s position was that the Yemenis themselves decide. Considering this serious difference, it seems that in the Beijing agreement between Tehran and Riyadh, the issue of Yemen was not directly raised. Despite this, the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia has had many effects on the military and political scene of Yemen.
One of the most important effects was that Saudi Arabia recognized Ansarullah. Saudi Arabia, which started the war with the aim of eliminating Ansarullah as an illegitimate actor in Yemen’s political scene, reached the conclusion after 8 years that it should recognize Ansarallah. Ansarullah played a role as an independent actor in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia and refused to give up its demands.
“Vina Ali Khan”, a Yemeni researcher at the International Crisis Group, said: “During the visit of the Saudi ambassador to Sana’a in April, he and his Houthi and Omani counterparts met To the surprise of the ambassador Mohammad Bin Saeed Al-Jaber, the Houthis were not willing to give any concessions and he left there empty-handed.”
Principles of Sanaa-Riyadh negotiations
The Yemenis raised five main demands in the negotiations with the Saudis: payment of salaries to Yemeni employees, withdrawal of all foreigners from Yemen , the exchange of all the prisoners and patients and reopening the way of humanitarian aid to Sana’a, the complete lifting of the all-round siege of Yemen and finally compensation for the war damages. A year after the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Yemenis claim that apart from the exchange of prisoners (which has not yet been completed), no progress has been made in the Sana’a-Riyadh negotiations.
Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay the salaries of Yemeni employees, but put forward a condition that the government of Sana’a has not accepted. In this context, Mehdi Al-Mashat, the head of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, said: The Saudis want to pay the salaries of Yemeni employees in exchange for the transfer of Yemeni oil and gas revenues to the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, which means looting Yemeni oil revenues and giving charity to Yemenis are the people of Yemen with their own money.
Nothing has happened in the discussion of lifting the blockade, but according to the latest comments, progress has been made. Mohammad Abd al-Salam, head of the Sana’a negotiating team, said in February 2024: “The Sana’a team and the Saudi leaders held a meeting and passed the most important obstacles facing the Yemeni crisis roadmap.” Sana’a delegation emphasized the need to solve the humanitarian case. This case includes the reopening of crossings, ports and roads, and this issue affects other cases, including political negotiations.”
Saudi Arabia has not given a guarantee to the Yemenis regarding compensation. The Saudis took an initiative and proposed a fund. The goal was to help in the form of donations. The Yemenis said that we do not accept the donation and basically the Yemenis did not accept the fund’s proposal and said that the Saudis imposed 8 years of war on us, destroyed our entire infrastructure and must restore all the damages they caused.
Achievements of negotiations for Yemenis
Although the demands of Yemen in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia have not yet been fulfilled, these negotiations have also had important achievements for the Sana’a government. One of the most important political achievements was the recognition of Ansarullah by Saudi Arabia and even international actors.
Another important achievement was that Ansarullah appeared on the Yemeni political scene as an independent and rational actor. Ansarullah has understood that if Saudi Arabia was satisfied with the military method and the military method was successful for this country, it would have gone ahead and finished the work until today and there would be no need for them to start a Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue.
Another important achievement for Ansarullah was that the shadow of war was removed from Yemen. Now Ansarullah is a “demanding” actor from Saudi Arabia. Another important achievement was that the ceasefire provided a basis for Sana’a to organize its military situation; This issue was clearly evident in the military parade of the Yemeni armed forces on September 21, 2023.
Result
It can be said that during the 8-year war with Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s Ansarullah emerged as an influential actor with popular support. During the past year and during numerous negotiations between Sana’a and Riyadh, Ansarullah also showed its political weight and emerged as the most important actor in Yemen’s political scene. Although Ansarullah’s demands in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia have not yet been met, the cessation of war gave Ansarallah the opportunity to reinvent itself in the Yemeni environment.
