Yemeni sources have reported that deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has sent messages to Arab Gulf states asking for a safe exit for himself and his family, expressing his willingness to cooperate. Saudi Arabia rejected his request.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Saudi Arabia, Asem Al-Ghamdi said that a Gulf source told him that Saleh is trying to secure a safe exit for himself and his family and that former Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi visited a number of countries in the regard in an effort to convince them that Saleh has no relations with the Houthis.
The source also added that Saleh’s request was denied by Riyadh, saying: “Saleh had a chance during the Gulf Initiative, but this time, he will not be given another.”
Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the ousted president’s son, had visited Riyadh shortly before Operation Storm of Resolve began in order to communicate his father’s demands in exchange for his father’s abandonment of his alliance with the Houthis, but Saudi rejected the demands.
Ahmed Saleh met with the Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who met him at Riyadh airport. At the time, Al-Jazeera learned that Ahmed had presented a number of demands and conditions in exchange for breaking the alliance with the Houthis.
These demands included supporting him in Yemen in order for him to become the next president, ending international prosecution of his father, and removing the freeze on his funds. These were all rejected by the Saudi minister and the meeting was ended.