By Al-Yawm, originally published 4 April 2015.
The Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel Al-Jubayr said that the decision to send ground troops to Yemen is subject to discussion, and green light may be given if conditions so demand. The statements were made as Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Yassin called for the creation of safe zones in Aden in order to provide humanitarian assistance to its residents. In a conference about the Yemeni crisis, which was held in the US Senate, Al-Jubayr denied the presence of Saudi troops in Aden. He explained that the possibility of a troop deployment is still a possibility if the situation changed in a way that would demand their deployment, adding that “use of ground forces has already been discussed, and the decision will be only be taken under certain conditions.”
Al-Jubayr criticised the deposed Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, emphasising that he should not play any role in the future of the country. Al-Jubayr said that “[Saleh] is currently playing a negative and extremely destructive role in Yemen, through his alliance with the Houthis, using his influence on the Yemeni army’s leadership to support them”, adding “the Houthis could not have advanced from Sana’a to Ta’az to Aden without the explicit and direct support from the previous president.”
Al-Jubayr also stated that “In Lebanon Hezbollah controls the state. We do not want anything like this top happen in Yemen, which it would with Houthi control. What the Houthis have done in Yemen is acts of terrorism. They have terrorised the Yemeni population and taken power. The Houthi ideology is clear and it will not have a positive effect on Yemen”, adding “Iran and Hezbollah are turning this conflict into one of sectarianism, that it is a Sunni-Shia conflict. We do not agree with this accusation. Rather, this is a battle of good against evil, not between Sunnis and Shias.”
Safe zones
The Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riyad Yassin, called for the creation of safe zones in the Aden, to provide humanitarian aid to residents in the city, at the same time battles between Peoples’ committees [armed groups loyal to president-in-Exile Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi] on one side, and Huthi militias and forces belonging to deposed president Saleh on the other, are raging and have intensified.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera Foreign Minister Yasin confirmed the lack of any political communication with the Houthis or Saleh, saying they have “declared war on all Yemenis. I think that this, with developments over the last few days everyone has come to understand both both the danger of cooperating with them in any future political reconciliation and their future presence in Yemen.
Editor’s note: All journalistic rights and rights for the picture belong to Al-Yaum
Source: alyaum.com/ (Accessed 4 April 2015)
Zaqaq translation 