Houthis state readiness to talk peace with Saudis as missiles continue to rain
By escalating military operations against Riyadh, the Houthis are seeking to build themselves a position of strength for public negotiations with Saudi Arabia.
Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, takes two approaches to its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Informal negotiations between the two sides started first, paving the way for the Houthis to recently announce their desire for direct dialogue with Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, provided that it's public. At the same time, Houthi missiles and drones still penetrate Saudi airspace.
The informal negotiations between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in Jordan were revealed in late September 2019. On June 13, the Houthis announced willingness to head to Riyadh and stop the Yemeni war that has been going on for over five years via a public dialogue with the Saudi-led Arab coalition on a comprehensive cease-fire.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, told the BBC on June 13, “We have no restrictions or an agenda that we fear will be exposed, and we are ready for a public dialogue with the aggression countries to reach a cease-fire and lift the siege that this coalition imposed on Yemen’s land, sea and air five years ago.”
On June 23, only 10 days after calling for dialogue with Riyadh, the Houthis carried out an air attack with ballistic missiles and drones on various locations in Saudi Arabia, saying it was in response to the ongoing siege on Yemen. The Houthis announced that the attacks had achieved their objectives by hitting military targets, while Riyadh said it had intercepted the missiles.
