Yemen government, Southern Council reiterate commitment to Riyadh Agreement

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) have renewed their commitment to a power-sharing agreement signed in Riyadh, known as Riyadh Agreement, appeasing fears of a resumption of fighting, amid reports of movements of troops in the southern province of Abyan.
In Aden, Saddam Abdullah, a media adviser to the leader of the STC, told Arab News on Tuesday that the council was fully complying with a joint military committee tasked to put into place the agreement, saying it had facilitated the return of the prime minister and his government.
“The council is willing to implement the agreement, and we urge Saudi Arabia to push further in applying the terms,” Abdullah said.
On Monday, Nizar Haytham, a spokesperson for the council, said it was committed to paving the way for the success of the agreement. “We are still fully committed to implementing all terms according to their agreed chronological order,” he told Arab News.
Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, Yemen’s prime minister, agreed in an interview with Al Arabiya TV, saying the Riyadh Agreement was a rare opportunity for peace in Yemen.
“Our complete interest as Yemenis is making the agreement a success. We are at the same distance from all political forces. This is a real opportunity that might not be repeated,” he said, adding that the Kingdom’s role as a sponsor would guarantee full implementation.
Under the agreement, signed Nov. 5, 2019, Yemen’s President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, would appoint a new security chief and governor to the port city of Aden after the return of the government to the city. Both the government and the STC would then withdraw their forces to positions held before August 2019.
The government has returned to Aden and resumed duties from the presidential palace in the city. Other terms, though, have not been implemented, rekindling fears about the possible collapse of the agreement.
Saeed said in the interview that the joint military committee tasked with the withdrawal of forces, collecting heavy arms and monitoring the truce was working hard on the ground.
“The committees are doing their work now applying security and military arrangements,” he said. “The sincere efforts by President Hadi and the Kingdom are the main guarantors of the success of the agreement.”
The bone of contention, according to both sides, is that the STC insists the government should pay salaries for military forces in Aden, appoint a new governor and pull out of Shabwa and Abyan before government forces return to Aden. The government, meanwhile, wants the council’s forces to disarm first.
In the same interview, Saeed said that the recent ban on banknotes by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels would hamper economic activities, and could contribute to the collapse of the country’s economy, adding that Saudi funds in the central bank in Aden were holding the Yemeni economy together.
“It will affect the entire economic circle. The Saudi deposit has been the main supporter of the financial system in Yemen. Many might not know that without the Saudi deposit, the exchange rate (of the riyal) would have increased significantly,” he said, referring to the Kingdom’s $2.2 billion injection of cash into the central bank in 2018.
The prime minister said his government still wished for peace with the Houthis, and that it would happen when they realized scale of damage caused by the war.
“It (peace) depends on the militias’ performance in future, and not spilling more blood. The war has stopped the political process. They have become a tool of a blatant violation of Yemeni sovereignty.”