UK rejects Saleh’s ‘irresponsible’ denial Yemen peace deal terms

The British Ambassador to Yemen, Edmund Fitton-Brown, yesterday described as “irresponsible” statements made by the former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in which he rejected the terms of reference for the negotiations.

Speaking during a meeting with Yemeni Foreign Minister, Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Fitton-Brown said that the “recent statements do not serve the political settlement in Yemen”.

The ambassador stressed “the importance of the resumption of political consultations to reach a just and sustainable solution to the conflict in Yemen, according to the three terms of references which are accepted by all countries sponsoring the settlement in Yemen.”

Earlier this week, Saleh said in a post on his official Facebook page that he does not recognise the three terms of references for a political settlement in retreat from previous agreements made by his party’s negotiating delegation.

The three terms include the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the Peace and Partnership Agreement and the UNSC Resolution 2216.