Riyadh, May 7 (IANS/EFE) US Secretary of State John Kerry met Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi here on Thursday to discuss the current conflict in Yemen, and the means to promote peace in the region.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) confirmed that the meeting was attended by Yemeni Prime Minister Khalid Bahah and the Yemeni Foreign Affairs Minister Riadh Yassin; from the US, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson and a number of officials were in attendance.
Afterward, John Kerry reported on the meeting via his official Twitter account, calling the talks “constructive”.
While Saudi Arabia has been leading the Arab military coalition targeting Shia Houthi rebel positions in Yemen for the past six weeks, Kerry is expected to address the possibility of halting air missions in some Yemeni areas to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, an option that is being evaluated by Saudi authorities.
After his arrival on Wednesday night to Riyadh from Djibouti, Kerry met with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, also the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, at a reception also attended by Defence Minister Mohamed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jobeir, among others.
During a press conference on Wednesday in Djibouti, Kerry announced that the US would allocate $68 million to relieve the humanitarian crisis resulting from the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
The advance of the Shia Houthi rebels towards southern Yemen in February prompted Hadi to flee and seek refuge in Riyadh, while subsequent airstrikes by the Arab coalition further aggravated the conflict that left more than 1,000 people dead.
–IANS/EFE
ab/dg