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UN: Yemen Foes Begin Direct Talks to Resolve Key Issues

UN: Yemen Foes Begin Direct Talks to Resolve Key Issues
folder_openYemen access_time7 years ago
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Yemen's warring parties began face-to-face peace talks Saturday on "key issues" in a bid to end the conflict in the impoverished Arab country, the United Nations said.

UN: Yemen Foes Begin Direct Talks to Resolve Key Issues

"All delegations are present. Key issues will be addressed," Charbel Raji, spokesman for Yemen's UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, told AFP about the negotiations taking place in Kuwait.

Most of the meetings in talks which began April 21 have so far been confined to encounters between rival delegations Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

More than 6,800 people had been killed and around 2.8 million displaced in Yemen since a Saudi-led coalition began operations in March 2015.

Key issues to navigate include the withdrawal of armed groups, a handover of heavy weapons, the resumption of a political transition and the release of prisoners.

The new phase of meetings comes after each of the warring sides submitted a framework for a political and security solution to end the 13-month war.

The sabanews.net website reported that a "new phase in the negotiations begins Saturday, which would truly test the positions of the United Nations and international community" in the search for peace.

Both sides said that they were committed to ensuring the success of the talks in Kuwait, which were preceded by a shaky ceasefire since April 11.

The 15-member UN Security Council Monday stressed the importance of agreeing on a "road map" to implement security measures including the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Yemeni towns.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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