Saudi: Algeria was not asked to help in Yemen talks

The spokesperson of the Saudi-led coalition yesterday denied media reports that Algeria had been asked to take part in mediating peace talks between warring parties in Yemen.

Rumours have been circulating that the Algerian Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of Staff, Ahmed Gaid Salah, was invited to mediate in future peace talks by his Qatari and Saudi counterparts.

The media reports quoted an anonymous Algerian diplomat.

General Ahmed Al Assiri, the coalition spokesperson, quickly denied the allegations and said that no conversation took place between anyone from the Algerian, Qatari and Saudi defence ministries.

When the Saudi-led coalition began their operation in March last year, Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra stated that Algeria is not in support of military intervention in Yemen and that Algiers would not get involved in the military operation. He called for a political solution, based on national dialogue.

Algeria’s stance has not changed since.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Shia Houthi fighters allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes.