[22/12/2017 02:57]

ADEN-SABA
Foreign Minister Abdul-Malik al-Mekhlafi said "what happened lately in Sana'a reveals that the Houthis are not peace partners and there is no sign that they will be good partners."

In an interview with Belqees TV channel, he said "they killed even their erstwhile partner in the coup d'état [the former president Ali Saleh] how can they be considered partners in the peace with the government

The minister said: "The Houthis is a group that do not practice politics, they practice bloodshed. Since the emergence of this bloody movement and since the coup they have not showed any signal that they are ready for political agreements or ready to offer any concession. They are pursuing a religious project and believe in a divine right to rule. By their own light, they are implementing God's will. So they don't talk politics."

He said that the government is, however, insisting on implementing the outcomes of Yemen's historical National Dialogue including the establishment of a federal state of six federal regions and resolving the Southern Issue.

He said that "the government is exerting big efforts to normalize life in the areas under its control and has projects under implementation across the fields of roads, education, health, water, electricity" and others.

He said that the Saudi-led Arab Coalition has come to supporting the government of Yemen and the conflict is between the government and the militia, it is not a Yemeni-Saudi conflict as the militia propagates.

As for the closure of the Sana'a Airport, he said the control of it is a matter of military sovereignty to the Yemeni government and the government is in favor of opening it but not under the militia's control.

"We the government relaxed our conditions to re-open it but the rebels were intransigent," he said.

He said that the government had offered two proposals; to re-open it provided that "the UN supervises its management" in order to guarantee against any military uses and imports the militia. "Then we proposed that the Houthi militiamen evacuate the airport to be run by the former (Saleh-era) regular public employees to re-run it."

"But lifting the blockade and letting the airport be run by the militia is a dangerous and unacceptable option."

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