Kuwait ready to host signing of Yemen peace deal

By Safiye Karabacak

KUWAIT (AA) - Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah said Wednesday his country is ready to host the signing ceremony for an agreement on ending the war in Yemen if the parties involved reach a consensus.

Al-Sabah made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl.

"We are ready to stand next to our Yemeni brothers when they think they are ready to end the war, reach peace and sign the [peace] agreement, which we hope Kuwait will host," he said.

"We don't believe that there is any alternative other than a political solution to end the Yemeni crisis," he added, noting that Kuwait had hosted talks on Yemen two years ago.

Kneissl said dialogue was the only option to resolve the Yemeni war.

UN-brokered peace talks on Yemen kicked off Dec. 6 in Sweden's capital, Stockholm.

In negotiations led by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels tackled disputed issues, including the release of prisoners, the battle over Hudaydah, the Yemeni Central Bank, the blockade of Taiz, humanitarian relief and Sana'a airport.

Progress was made on the issue of prisoners. The delegations are expected to leave Sweden on Thursday.

- Previous peace efforts

Talks between Yemen’s warring parties in the Swiss cities of Biel and Geneva in 2015 and in Kuwait in 2016 ended in failure.

UN-sponsored peace talks scheduled to be held on Sept. 6 in Geneva also fell through as the Houthis did not take part.

Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, and the key port city of Hudaydah.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this story from Ankara