Saudi Arabia Responds to Al-Alimi’s Request to Hold Conference to Discuss Southern Yemen Issues
Sudanhorizon- Agencies
Saudi Arabia has announced it welcomed the request made by Rashad Al-Alimi, head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, to hold an all-inclusive conference in Riyadh that would bring together all southern factions to discuss “just” solutions to the southern Yemen issue.
A statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published t on Saturday on its official Twitter account reads: “In response to the request of His Excellency Dr. Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, to hold a comprehensive conference in Riyadh bringing together all southern factions to discuss just solutions to the southern issue, and based on the contents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement dated December 30, 2015, regarding the southern issue—that it is a just cause with historical and social dimensions, and that the only way to address it is through dialogue within a comprehensive political solution in Yemen—and in continuation of the close relationship between the two brotherly countries and what is required by common interests under the current circumstances, and in furtherance of the Kingdom’s efforts to support and strengthen the security and stability of the Republic of Yemen and provide a suitable environment for dialogue, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the request of His Excellency the Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council and calls on all southern factions to actively participate in the conference to develop a comprehensive vision for just solutions to the southern issue that meet the legitimate aspirations of the southern people.”
The statement continues: Al-Alimi had submitted a request to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and his Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to host and sponsor the conference in Riyadh.
Al-Alimi expressed his hope that the conference would include “all southern components, forces, and figures without exception, including the Southern Transitional Council, in a way that reflects the diversity and pluralism of the South, prevents exclusion or marginalization, and avoids repeating the injustices of the past.”
According to a well placed source at the Yemeni Presidency, Al-Alimi stressed that resolving the southern issue “cannot be monopolized by any one party or component, nor can it be reduced to unilateral actions or claims of exclusive representation. Rather, it must be the product of a collective will, a responsible dialogue process, and institutional approaches based on nationally, regionally, and internationally agreed-upon frameworks, foremost among them the outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, the Gulf Initiative and its implementation mechanism, the Riyadh Agreement, the Yemeni-Yemeni consultations sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, the Declaration on the Transfer of Power, and resolutions of international legitimacy.” The source emphasized Al-Alimi’s commitment to “protecting civil peace, upholding the principles of partnership and consensus, rejecting exclusion, agreeing on a comprehensive national framework to address the southern issue fairly and inclusively, and categorically rejecting the imposition of facts by force or the use of weapons to achieve political gains that do not serve the southern cause or yield any legal or constitutional benefits.”
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