‘UN must reveal who is obstructing Yemen peace talks’

The Yemeni government has asked the UN to announce which party has obstructed the peace talks in Kuwait.

The Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the delegation to the talks, Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi, told reporters: “The government delegation has decided to leave Kuwait after signing a draft peace plan proposed by the United Nations.”

“The rebels are seeking to legitimise the coup and to engage in a national government before withdrawing from the cities they control or before they put down arms,” Al-Mekhlafi said. “It is absurd to talk about any changes in the plan.”

The Yemeni official said the option to extend consultations until 7 August still stands. “We have provided a lot of concessions during the consultations,” he added.

A delegation member, who preferred not to be named, told the Anadolu Agency: “The ball is now in the rebels’ court. They are still dragging their heels in signing the UN draft plan, and this is a real test of how serious they are to reach a solution to end the war.”

According to the government, the draft plan calls for the rebels to withdraw from the capital Sanaa and two major cities, hand over heavy arms and return state institutions they seized in September 2014.

The rebels said that a national unity government must be formed and a new consensus president appointed to oversee the transition first.