Russian Ambassador Says 'Lack Of Trust' Between Sides Main Problem Of Yemen Consultations

Russian Ambassador Says 'Lack of Trust' Between Sides Main Problem of Yemen Consultations

The main obstacle to reaching peace in Yemen has been the lack of trust between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement, also known as Ansar Allah, Russian Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin said at a press briefing on Friday.

GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) The main obstacle to reaching peace in Yemen has been the lack of trust between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement, also known as Ansar Allah, Russian Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin said at a press briefing on Friday.

Consultations between the parties to the Yemeni armed conflict with the UN support in Geneva were supposed to start on Thursday. However, the Houthi delegation said on Wednesday they could not leave the city of Sanaa as they did not have the safe passage guarantee from the Saudi-led coalition, controlling the Yemeni airspace.

"The Yemeni war has been lasting for three and a half years already, both parties have accumulated countless fears, contradictions and concerns during this period. Unfortunately, the main problem of any negotiations is the lack of trust and, in this regard, the Sanaa delegation builds on the experience of earlier consultations, in particular, in Kuwait, during which [the delegation] could not return to Sanaa for three months," Dedushkin said.

Dedushkin explained that it was Houthis' previous unsuccessful experience that had delayed their arrival at the consultations in Geneva.

"In this regard, the representatives of Sanaa have certain concerns that such a scenario might repeat this time. In this regard, they demand certain guarantees ensuring their unhindered return to Sanaa," Dedushkin indicated.

In April 2016, the government of Yemen and its Houthi opponents held a round of peace talks brokered by the United Nations in Kuwait, which lasted for several months but has not yielded any significant results.

Yemen is engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.