The Russian side welcomes the agreements reached on the establishment of a new government in Yemen, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.
Zakharova said that the formation of a new cabinet of ministers was announced in Yemen on December 18. According to her information, representatives of Saudi Arabia mediated the negotiations between official Yemeni authorities and representatives of the southern regions.
"Moscow welcomes these agreements. We would like to especially note the role of Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE, which contributed greatly to the agreement of such understandings and their implementation," she said.
The diplomat also noted that the signing of the document was preceded by "the mutual withdrawal of troops from the line of contact in the Abyan province and the evacuation of combat units of the Southern Transitional Council from the capital of the Yemeni south of Aden."
"We expect that the aforementioned measures will lead to an increase in public security, allowing us to focus on the solution of acute socio-economic and humanitarian problems in this part of Yemen. <...> At the same time, we remain convinced that the resolution of the numerous contradictions accumulated in Yemen <...> is possible only through inclusive dialogue and consideration of the legitimate interests of all leading political forces of the country," Zakharova stressed, calling on the parties to the conflict to refrain from striking at each other's positions.
On the situation in Yemen
The poor economic situation, the humanitarian crisis and the failure of the legitimate government to resolve the situation led in April 2017 to the formation of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the south of the country, which advocates the separation of South Yemen (formerly the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen) and is supported by the UAE. It was led by the governor of the Aden province, Aidarous al-Zubeidi. Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi dismissed him for loss of trust and called the Council illegitimate. Against the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in Yemen, periodic clashes between supporters of its independence and the government occurred in the south of the country.
In November 2019 in Riyadh, representatives of the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council signed a conciliation agreement. Despite the agreements, on April 26, 2020, the STC announced the creation of self-government in the southern regions under their control, including Aden. In July of that year, the STC canceled the self-rule to "allow the Arab coalition to implement the Riyadh agreement sooner," but in August the Council announced the suspension of negotiations. On December 10, the Arab Coalition announced an agreement between the internationally recognized government of Yemen and the STC to form a unified government.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS