Analysis: What is the wheel bolt in the Sana'a talks?
English - Thursday 13 April 2023 الساعة 01:29 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The controversy that accompanied the visit of the Saudi delegation to Sana'a, headed by the Kingdom's ambassador to Yemen, Muhammad Al Jaber, escalated, following statements by leaders of the Houthi group expressing the group's refusal to describe Saudi Arabia as a "mediator" in the ongoing talks in Sana'a.
And after Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi's tweet on his Twitter page, and the statements of the leader, Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti, in response to the tweet of Ambassador Al Jaber, Al-Masirah channel, speaking on behalf of the Houthis, on Wednesday (April 11), reported statements by the leader, Jalal Al-Ruwaishan, in which he described the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as "assuming the role of Mediator".
Almost a week has passed since the arrival of the Saudi and Omani delegations to Sanaa, and the debate over whether Saudi Arabia is a party to the war or a mediator in the peace negotiations is still the master of the situation, while local and regional public opinion has been preoccupied with this controversy and questions about the course of the talks have subsided.
Practically, this tour is supposed to be to put the final touches on a draft agreement that was discussed by the Saudi and Houthi sides in Muscat, through Omani mediation. However, the progress of the talks is very slow and inconsistent with the fact that they are for the purpose of putting "final touches" on an agreement whose terms have already been discussed. The nature of talks of this kind is that they are immune from leaking their details before the discussion is completed and agreement on their terms. However, the leaks that emerged from these talks have nothing to do with the items under discussion, but with the Houthi leaders showing their readiness to resume the war if the agreement does not include their own conditions and vision for peace.
During the past three days, the atmosphere of the Sana'a talks has been affected by a state of poisoning, and despite the return of the "positive atmosphere" today, Thursday, to the discussions - as reported by international media - the combat escalation of the Houthis in Marib, Shabwa, Taiz and Hodeidah remains a threat that threatens the collapse of the agreement on the ground.
Optimism and pessimism
Since the news and media reports started talking about negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, a state of division has prevailed in Yemeni circles between those who are optimistic that the war will stop and that peace will finally come. He is pessimistic about what will result from these negotiations, especially since the other Yemeni parties and forces did not directly participate in them.
Yemenis’ posts on social media indicate, during the current week at least, a state of anxiety, anticipation, and wishes for the end of the war and the return of stability to the whole country, while many political and civilian activists express their fears about the complications surrounding the terms of the negotiations, on top of which is the reunification of the Central Bank of Yemen and the unification of The currency exchange rate, the mechanisms for disbursing the salaries of government employees, and the opening of closed roads and outlets in the governorates that the two parties share control over. Not to mention the mechanism for forming a "national unity government" that includes all parties to the conflict. And with the remaining details that the devil often hides in, they constitute the wheel nail in the peace process that is acceptable to all local parties.
