Off the wire
• Roundup: Moroccan linked to Tunis attack arrested in Italy  • Leading results of IAAF World Challenge in Beijing (updated-last)  • Last gasp goal gifts Seongnam FC 2-1 home win over 10-man Guangzhou Evergrande  • Thailand says not to push back stranded migrants at sea  • China Focus: Alibaba taps "she power" in entrepreneurship  • Pakistan nabs mastermind of Karachi bus attack  • Feature: Japan folds to int'l pressure over bloody Taiji drive hunt of dolphins  • France to host int'l meeting on conflicts in Syria, Iraq  • Chinese firm wins contract to explore coal in East Kenya  • Finland's former PM elected as EP Vice-President  
You are here: 　 Home

Yemen's exiled gov't may not attend UN-backed Geneva talks: FM

Xinhua, May 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Foreign Minister of Yemen's exiled government Dr Riyadh Yaseen said on Wednesday that they might not attend the UN-brokered talks on Yemen crisis due in Geneva next week, al Arabiya reported.

He said his government has not being officially invited to the Geneva talks, and it still needs more time for preparations.

The foreign minister also stressed that they would not show up at the talks unless the Shiite Houthi group withdraws from areas it has seized.

The United Nations announced on Wednesday to hold peace talks on the worsening Yemeni crisis, starting on May 28 in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all parties to engage in the talks without pre-conditions, adding that the only way to solve the crisis in Yemen is "inclusive, negotiated political settlement.''

It remains unclear whether the Houthis, which have been under constant bombing since late March by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, will participate the talks or not.

The UN-mediated talks were suspended when the Houthi fighters began to launch their offensive last year, which have led to the capture of capital Sanaa in September, the marching on the Southern port city of Aden, and the flee of President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The warring parities in Yemen and their respective supporters have long been arguing where they would kick off their negotiations.

Earlier, a dialogue conference with participation of several Yemeni political parties, tribes, representatives of country's parliament as well as envoys of regional and international organizations was held in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia.

However, the Shiite Houthi group and leaders of the General People's Congress party, led by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, refused to join the talks. They, along with Iran, which supports the Houthis, believe that such talks should be held in a neutral country.

Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said in Beirut on Monday that the UN could handle the dialogue, insisting the location was a key aspect to be considered.

Also on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, will visit Iran to discuss the situation in the war-torn country.

She added that Iran ascribes an important role to the UN in talks over Yemen, and is ready to assist in the progress of political talks among the Yemeni parties involved in the conflict. Endit