Report: U.S. Seeks to Open Direct Talks with Houthis (Ansarullah) in Yemen

Yamanyoon

The United States is seeking to enter into “direct” talks with Houthis (Ansarullah) in Yemen, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning.

The United States looks forward to urging Saudi Arabia to engage in secret talks in Oman with Houthi leaders in an attempt to broker a ceasefire in Yemen,” people familiar with the talks told the Journal’s Dion Nissenbaum and Warren P. Strobel

Leading the US side in these opening talks is Ambassador Chris Hansel, “the diplomat who became the first ambassador to the Trump administration to Yemen in April,” Nissenbaum and Strobel wrote.

At the same time, major players are actively exploring ways to quickly remove the exiled Yemeni former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in an effort to get peace talks moving.

Later this week, US officials “plan to meet with Saudi leaders in Washington to convince them of the importance of embracing diplomacy because there are “serious concerns in Washington that Saudi Arabia is not serious about ending the conflict”. Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman is said to take part in talks with Foreign Minister Mike Bombo on Wednesday.