Saudi crown prince says solution to Yemen conflict is ‘close’

Significant progress has been made towards ending the war in Yemen and the warring parties are very close to reaching a solution, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz said.

“There is significant progress in negotiations, and we have good contacts with the Houthis, with a delegation currently in Riyadh,” Prince Mohammed, who is also the kingdom’s defence minister, told Bloomberg news agency last week.

“We are pushing to have this opportunity materialise on the ground but if things relapse, we are ready,” he added.

Prince Mohammed said ties between the kingdom and the US are broad and oil forms a very small part of them.

He refused to comment on the US elections, saying: “Saudi Arabia does not interfere in the elections in any other countries.”

“America is the policeman of the world, not just the Middle East. It is the number one country in the world, and we consider ourselves to be the main ally for the US in the Middle East and we see America as our ally,” he said.