France says ready to assist Saudi to solve Yemen crisis

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sunday stressed his country's readiness to assist Saudi Arabia to solve the ongoing crisis in Yemen, Al Arabiya News reported.

Fabius made the remarks during a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal in Riyadh as part of his visit to the Kingdom, in which he met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The top French diplomat revealed that his country will propose initiatives in the coming few days to promote peace in conflict-hit Yemen.

"We are ready to provide assistance to reach settlement for the Yemeni crisis and are dedicated to reach strong agreement on Iran nuclear program," he said.

On the Syrian crisis, he said that the country's fate does not anymore depend on the administration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or the Islamic State (IS), calling for forming a united national government that includes all segments in society.

He added that the IS could be eliminated in Iraq by ending the marginalization policy.

The French official also revealed cooperation with Saudi Arabia in nuclear energy.

For his part, Prince Faisal said that Saudi Arabia was not in a war with Iran, hoping that the Islamic republic ends its support for the Houthis in Yemen.

He hoped that the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and world powers, including the United States, will promote regional security.

He affirmed that security could be obtained in the region by the mutual respect among neighbors and the non-interference in others' affairs.

A Saudi-led coalition started on March 26 a military operation in Yemen to foil the Shiite Houthis' bid to seize power from the legitimate president. Endit