Pakistani, Saudi foreign ministers consult amid reported Riyadh-Abu Dhabi tensions.
Simultaneously with the consultations between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met yesterday with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, who is currently in Pakistan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan announced that Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, reviewed the current developments in the region with Faisal bin Farhan, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia.
Bin Farhan emphasized Saudi Arabia’s commitment to further strengthening and promoting bilateral relations with Pakistan.
This comes as the forces of the Arab coalition supporting the so-called Presidential Council in Yemen bombed positions in the port of Mukalla in Hadramaut province in eastern Yemen.
The coalition added that two ships carrying weapons entered the port of Mukalla from the port of Fujairah in the UAE without obtaining permission on Saturday and Sunday.
The coalition supporting the Yemeni Presidential Council said in a statement: The two ships, which came from Fujairah, disabled their tracking systems and unloaded a large cargo of weapons and military vehicles to support the Southern Transitional Council forces and fuel the conflict.
The statement added: The coalition command will continue to reduce tensions and implement the ceasefire in Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, and will prevent any military support from any country to any Yemeni party without coordination with the Yemeni Presidential Council and the coalition supporting the council.
The coalition supporting the Yemeni Presidential Council added: Military operations in Mukalla will be carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law and it is guaranteed that no collateral damage will occur.
Following this action, the Saudi Foreign Ministry, in a statement, demanded that the UAE immediately respond to the request of Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Council, and withdraw all its forces from Yemeni territory within 24 hours and stop any military and financial support to Yemeni internal parties.
The statement said: Saudi Arabia hopes that wisdom will prevail in this framework, and that the principles of brotherhood, good neighborliness, and strong relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will be maintained, and that the interests of the country of Yemen will be taken into account, and that the UAE will take the desired steps to maintain the bilateral relations that Saudi Arabia wants to strengthen. Saudi Arabia also calls for joint cooperation to strengthen comfort, prosperity, and stability in the countries of the region.
This statement was met with anger in the UAE, and the country’s Foreign Ministry, in response to the recent Saudi statement on the developments in Yemen, expressed regret for the content of the statement, rejected any interference by Abu Dhabi in Yemen’s internal tensions, and emphasized its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and stability.