https://arab.news/pcw25
DUBAI: The Houthi militia’s official spokesman has attempted to retract the group’s implicit rejection of a recent US peace proposal by sharing a “clarification” Twitter post claiming that “discussions” over the plan “were still ongoing.”
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam earlier expressed the group’s rejection of US envoy to Yemen Timothy Lenderking’s proposal for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen.
Abdul-Salam said the Houthis see that “there’s nothing new” in the US envoy’s proposal, adding that “it represents the Saudi and international vision.”
However, the militia group appears to have backtracked its blatant rejection stance later on.
On Saturday Abdul-Salam shared a Twitter post from an interview with Almasirah TV where he had spoken about the US peace plan.
The Houthi spokesperson retweeted the post which said it is a “clarification” that the Houthis did not reject the Oman-sponsored peace talks.
“[Abdul-Salam] only expressed reservations towards the current state of Lenderking’s peace plan,” the tweet by a Almasirah TV anchor said.
“He confirmed that discussions about it are still ongoing,” the anchor added.
Lenderking, speaking at an online forum organized by the Atlantic Council think tank on Friday, said that “a sound plan” has been put before the Houthi leadership for “a number of days.”
But it appears the group is prioritizing a military offensive to take Marib, said Lenderking, who was on a 17-day trip to the region to revive efforts to end the six-year conflict.
The Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia were said to have given their approval for the plan.