RIYADH —
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have proposed
a ceasefire and peace talks to end the country’s crippling war in return for
opening the capital’s airport and the key port of Hodeida, a senior Saudi
official told AFP on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
The comments come a day after a wave of
drone-and-missile attacks against Saudi targets including an oil facility in
Jeddah, sparking a huge fire as
Formula One practice sessions took place
nearby.
The Iran-backed rebels last week rejected an offer
of talks in Riyadh — capital of
Saudi Arabia, which leads the pro-government
military coalition.
“The Houthis put forward an initiative through
mediators that includes a truce, opening the airport (Sanaa) and the port
(Hodeida) and Yemeni-Yemeni discussions,” said the official, on condition of
anonymity.
“We are waiting for it to be officially announced
because they (Houthis) are constantly changing their words,” he added.
No immediate comment was available from the Houthis,
who seized Sanaa in 2014, ousting the government and sparking a devastating
war. The Saudi-led coalition launched its intervention exactly seven years ago.
A Riyadh-based diplomat told AFP that
Hans Grundberg, the UN’s special envoy to Yemen, had led recent efforts to reach a
truce during the month of Ramadan, which begins in early April.
Last week, the Saudi-headquartered, six-nation
Gulf Cooperation Council invited the rebels to talks in Riyadh later this month.
But the Houthis refused to hold talks with the
government in “enemy countries”.
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