President Al-Zubaidi meets the UN Special Envoy for Yemen
During his meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy… President Al-Zubaidi clarifies the council’s position on the “Joint Declaration”.
President Aidaroos Qassem Al-Zubaidi, Chairman of the Southern Transitional Council and Supreme Commander of the Southern Armed Forces, today on Tuesday, received at his residence in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General to Yemen, His Excellency Martin Griffiths.
This meeting comes in light of the continued intensified efforts led and sponsored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to advance the implementation of mechanism for the Accelerated Riyadh Agreement.
President Al-Zubaidi emphasized that the Riyadh Agreement represents a real opportunity to bring peace and stability to our country, in addition to being a stepping stone to the comprehensive political process sponsored by the United Nations, appreciating the keenness of the leadership of the Arab Coalition to support the peace process through the Riyadh Agreement and the comprehensive political process.
President Al-Zubaidi also affirmed the Transitional Council’s support for the efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, stressing the need for real representation of the South in all phases of the political process without exception, and at the same time affirming the Council’s readiness to participate in the political process in accordance with the provisions of the Riyadh Agreement, highlighting the impossibility of any viable solutions without real and full representation of the South at the negotiating table.
Regarding the Joint Declaration, President Al-Zubaidi confirmed that the Southern Transitional Council has not yet received any invitation to participate in the consultations on the declaration, indicating that the delegation of the Southern Transitional Council is ready to participate in the consultations and review of the details of Joint Declaration in line with the Riyadh Agreement particularly the formation of a Joint Government Delegation.
The President noted that due to STC’s exclusion to participate in the Joint Declaration’s consultations, as a result, it exempts the Southern Transitional Council from any obligations contained in the declaration, pointing to the danger of the re-production of agreements in which representatives of the South do not participate and play a significant role.
The meeting was attended by the Negotiating Delegation accompanying the head of the Southern Transitional Council, Dr. Nasser Al-Khubaji, member of the Presidency, Head of the Negotiations Affairs Unit, Mr. Ali Al Kathiri, member of the Presidency, Deputy Head of the Negotiations Affairs Unit, Major General Salem Al-Soqtari, member of the Presidency, Assistant Secretary-General, and members of the Presidency, members of the Negotiations Affairs Unit. Engineer Adnan Al-Kaf, Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Yafei. Mr. Mohammed Al Ghaithi, Deputy Head of the General Administration of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Anis Al-Sharafi, Member of the Negotiations Affairs Unit, and Mr. Adel Mutlak, Member of the General Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Secretary-General’s Envoy’s team, Mr. Moeen Shraim, the Deputy Envoy, and Mr. Emmanuel Berg were present at the meeting.
