Official: GCC leaders to meet in Riyadh ahead of Obama summit

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders will hold a “consultative summit” in Riyadh on 5 May ahead of their meeting with US President Barack Obama scheduled for 14 May in Camp David, a senior Kuwaiti official told reporters.

On the conclusion of the Saudi-led Operation Storm of Resolve in Yemen, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Suleiman Al-Jarallah Al-Sabah said he hoped that all parties return to the negotiating table to discuss their differences in accordance with the GCC’s decisions, the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference and the UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

“We believe Security Council resolution no. 2216 constitutes a concrete basis for any political initiative that aims to address the situation in Yemen,” he explained.

Commenting on media reports of an Omani initiative to resolve the Yemeni crisis, Al-Jarallah said that any initiative that aims to address the situation in Yemen must be based on the UNSC resolution 2216.

“If the Houthis do not withdraw from southern Yemen within two days, which is the deadline set by the Security Council, the Council will follow its procedures under Chapter VII,” he warned.

Al-Jarallah said Gulf countries will continue to provide relief and humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni people.

The White House announced on 17 April that President Obama would receive GCC leaders in the White House on 13 May, before another meeting in Camp David the following day.

In a statement it said the meeting “will be an opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen partnership between the two parties and deepen security cooperation.”