No contacts with Houthis they lay down arms -- Yemen FM

MANAMA, April 23 (KUNA) -- Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyad Yaseen on Thursday ruled out the possibility of any contacts with the Houthi militia until they abandon their weapons and surrender.
There would be no dialogue until Houthis commit themselves to the relevant UN resolutions, withdraw from the cities they controlled by force, abide by the legitimate government, and transform into a political component, he said.
Yaseen made the comments at a joint press conference with Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khaled bin Ahmad bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa here.
The Yemeni minister explained that what the Houthis militia and Ali Abdullah Saleh group are doing is a crime against the Yemeni people, explaining that these militias overstepped Yemenis and all Yemeni territories and threatened international peace.
The Yemeni minister added the Decisive Storm operation was not an air campaign only, but is an integrated package that will allow the delivery of humanitarian aid, stressing that operations will continue if there are any movements of the Houthi militias, noting that there is no ceasefire or freeze on operations.
Yaseen noted that the current stage is to restore hope and to provide humanitarian aid.
For his part, Sheikh Khaled said that the recent meeting between Bahrain's King Hamad bins Issa Al-Khalifa with Yemeni Vice President and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah highlighted relations between the two countries and the latest developments in Yemen.
The Bahraini minister said that the kingdom renewed its commitment to work on restoring security in Yemen and providing humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni people, adding that the current situation does not mean stopping the ongoing operations but is moving on to another period based on the provision of providing humanitarian and medical assistance. (end) mga.mb