Yemeni gov't agrees to join Sweden talks

JEDDAH, Nov 19 (KUNA) -- The Yemeni government on Monday agreed to take part in planned peace negotiations in Sweden.
The Yemeni government told UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths that Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi had instructed supporting his ongoing efforts to hold talks in Sweden, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said in a press statement, carried by Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
It will dispatch a delegation to Sweden to joint peace negotiations in order to reach a political solution to the Yemeni standoff pursuant to the three references of the Gulf Initiative and its Executive Mechanism, National Dialogue Output and UNSC Resolution 2216, it said.
But, it emphasized that it was necessary to exert pressure on Houthi militia to comply with UN efforts and attend Sweden talks without prior conditions, according to the statement.
The UN envoy for Yemen said on Saturday that this war-torn Arab country's warring parties had agreed to attend negotiations in Sweden aimed at ending more than three years of brutal war.
Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council on Friday that the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels had shown a "renewed commitment" to work on a political solution to end a war that has driven millions to the brink of famine. (end) nsa.mt