Report: Saudis Quietly Backing UN Peace Plan for Yemen

Sources Claim 'Most' of Saudi Leadership Endorses Plan

The UN peace plan for Yemen, which involves the creation of an interim unity government, appeared dead on arrival when it was endorsed by the Shi’ite Houthis as a promising start, but immediately condemned by the Saudi-backed Hadi government. New reports, however, suggest the Saudis may be breathing new life into the matter.

Publicly, the Saudi government has not commented on the plan yet, but those familiar with the situation say that most if not all of the leadership supports the plan, and that they’ve been quietly pushing Hadi in the direction of allowing it as a basis for peace talks.

The plan would allow Hadi to hold a nominal leadership position, but insists it would be entirely a figurehead position with little to no real power. Hadi became Yemen’s president in 2012 in a one candidate vote, and unilaterally extended his two-year term in office beyond that date.

The United Arab Emirates has already publicly backed the peace deal, becoming the first member of the Saudi coalition to do so. Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen in March of 2015, vowing to reinstall Hadi as president after he resigned two months prior. The ongoing war has caused growing international outcry, however, and there is more pressure to resolve the situation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.