GCC General Secretary Abdul Latif al-Zayani has reported that his weekend trip to Yemen to try to put the finishing touches on a transition agreement for the nation has ended in failure, and that the agreement itself is basically at a “dead end.”

Officials say that Zayani has no intention of making any additional visits to Yemen to try to revive the deal, and cited Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s refusals to consider any proposal that involves him leaving office.

“Saleh can’t imagine himself living in Yemen and not being president,” one official reported. Saleh had initially endorsed the GCC plan, but then refused to sign the agreement when an opposition faction came on board.

Even though Saleh initially claimed willingness to leave office, he has since repeatedly insisted he will remain “by any means” necessary. The US has been pressing Saleh to transfer power to a military general as a way of avoiding the president’s apparent opposition to free and open elections.

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