Negotiations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia; Achievements and failures.
One of the most important events in Yemen last year was holding negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Although there have been talks over the past years, Sana’a and Riyadh have not negotiated directly. Over the past year, the parties have had direct and continuous negotiations. These negotiations have had achievements and failures that are discussed in this article.
Three milestones for the end of the war in Yemen
For the end of the war in Yemen, three starting points can be considered in the last two years: April 2022, March 2023, and April 2024. In April 2022, with the mediation of the United Nations, Riyadh and Sana’a agreed to a two-month ceasefire, which was extended twice for a total of 4 months.
Although the UN-negotiated ceasefire expired in October 2023, it was still more or less observed and violence had largely subsided. March 2023 was also important because of the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore bilateral relations after 7 years, and it has also had a direct impact on the war in Yemen. In April 2024, a Saudi delegation traveled to Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, to negotiate directly with Ansarullah. During the visit of the Saudi delegation to Sana’a, Mehdi Al-Mashat, the head of the Yemeni Political Council, and Mohammad Al-Jaber Saudi, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, met together. This was the first visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa after 8 years of war. Further, the delegation of the Sana’a government traveled to Riyadh and met and talked with Saudi officials.
Negotiations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia; An important development in the 8-year war
The crisis in Yemen was one of the most important disputes between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was done before China mediated between the two countries. What Saudi Arabia wanted from relations with Iran was the Yemen issue and help to get out of this self-made quagmire, but Iran’s position was that the Yemenis themselves decide. Considering this serious difference, it seems that in the Beijing agreement between Tehran and Riyadh, the issue of Yemen was not directly raised. Despite this, the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia has had a great impact on the military and political scene of Yemen.
One of the most important effects was that Saudi Arabia recognized Ansarullah. Saudi Arabia, which started the war to eliminate Ansarullah as an illegitimate actor in Yemen’s political scene, concluded after 8 years that it should recognize Ansarallah. Ansarullah played a role as an independent actor in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia and refused to give up its demands and demands.
Veena Ali Khan, a Yemen researcher at the International Crisis Group, said: “During the visit of the Saudi ambassador to Sana’a in April, he met with his Houthi and Omani counterparts. To the surprise of Ambassador Mohammad bin Saeed Al-Jaber, the Houthis were not willing to give any concessions and he left there empty-handed.
The axes of Sanaa-Riyadh negotiations
In the negotiations with the Saudis, the Yemenis raised five main demands: payment of the salaries of Yemeni employees, the withdrawal of all foreigners from Yemen, the exchange of all prisoners and patients, and the reopening of humanitarian aid to Sana’a, the complete lifting of the all-round siege of Yemen, and finally, compensation for war damages. A year after the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Yemenis claim that no progress has been made in the Sana’a-Riyadh negotiations except for the exchange of prisoners (which has not been completed either).
Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay the salaries of the Yemeni employees but put forward a condition that the government of Sana’a has not accepted. In this context, Mehdi Al-Mashat, the head of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, said: The Saudis want to pay the salaries of Yemeni employees in exchange for the transfer of Yemeni oil and gas revenues to the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, which means looting Yemeni oil revenues and giving charity to Yemenis are the people of Yemen with their own money.
Nothing has happened in the discussion of lifting the siege, but according to the latest comments, progress has been made. Mohammad Abd al-Salam, head of the Sana’a negotiating team, said in February 2024: “The Sana’a team and the Saudi leaders held a meeting and passed the most important obstacles facing the Yemeni crisis roadmap.” Sana’a delegation emphasized the need to solve the humanitarian case. “This case includes the reopening of crossings, ports, and roads, and this issue affects other cases, including political negotiations.”
In the issue of compensation, Saudi Arabia has not given any guarantee to the Yemenis. The Saudis took the initiative and proposed a fund. The goal was to help in the form of donations. The Yemenis said that we do not accept the donation, and basically, the Yemenis did not accept the fund’s proposal and said that the Saudis imposed 8 years of war on us, destroyed our entire infrastructure, and should restore all the damages they caused.
The achievements of the negotiations for the Yemenis
Although the demands of Yemen in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia have not yet been realized, these negotiations have also had important achievements for the government of Sana’a. One of the most important political achievements was the recognition of Ansarullah by Saudi Arabia and even international actors.
Another important achievement was that Ansarullah appeared on Yemen’s political scene as an independent and rational actor. Ansarullah understood that if Saudi Arabia was satisfied with the military method and the military method was successful for this country, it would have gone ahead and finished the work and there would be no need for them to start a Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue.
Another important achievement for Ansarullah was that the shadow of war was removed from Yemen. Now Ansarullah is a “demanding” actor from Saudi Arabia. Another important achievement was that the ceasefire provided a basis for Sana’a to organize its military situation; This issue was evident in the military parade of the Yemeni armed forces on September 21, 2023.
Result
During the past year and numerous negotiations between Sana’a and Riyadh, Ansarullah also showed its political weight and emerged as the most important actor in Yemen’s political scene. Although Ansarullah’s demands in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia have not yet been met, the cessation of the war allowed Ansarallah to reinvent itself in the Yemeni environment.