Major General Faraj Salmin al-Bahsani, member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, confirmed that the council will lead the stage in the North and the South towards stability, calling for placing the national project above any other considerations.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Bahsani noted that a draft roadmap was currently being discussed and included a first phase of six months to stabilize the ceasefire, then a preparation stage of three months, followed by a transitional phase that extends over two years to discuss the form of the state.
He also stressed that Saudi Arabia was leading the process of rapprochement between the Yemeni legitimacy and the Houthi group, based on good neighborliness and brotherhood between the two countries, expressing his confidence that the Kingdom would continue to stand by the Presidential Leadership Council and the legitimate government.
Bahsani said, however, that the proposed draft peace map “collided at the beginning with the intransigence of the Houthi militia, which practices the Iranian method of procrastination.”
“These militias do not care about ending the war or the suffering of the people through regional and international opportunities to bring peace to Yemen. All they want from the war and the coup against the state is to control the institutions and seize power,” he underlined.
According to Bahsani, the most important axes of “the draft peace map include a first phase of six months, in which the ceasefire is established and other measures are taken without the militia’s intervention.”
Those measures seek to facilitate commercial activity and the citizens’ movement in areas controlled by the Houthis.
“As for the second phase, it will last for three months, during which the plans and programs for the transitional phase will be prepared,” he underlined.
The member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council stated that Saudi Arabia was leading the process of rapprochement between the legitimacy and the Houthis, pointing out that neither the council nor the legitimate government participated in any direct dialogues with the Houthi militia.
He also stressed that the Saudi-Iranian agreement signed on March 10 will reflect positively on major regional files, including Yemen.
“Saudi Arabia puts all its diplomatic weight to solve this file with the Republic of Iran and to stop Tehran’s backing of the Houthi militia,” Bahsani told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that the Houthis used this support “to kill the Yemeni people and tamper with the stability of the region as a whole, not just Yemen.”
The member of the Presidential Leadership Council emphasized that the war was not over yet, and that the Yemeni army was ready for the worst possibilities if the Houthis insisted on a new round of fighting.
With regards to the peace efforts led by Saudi Arabia, the UN envoy and a number of “brotherly and friendly” countries that took place during the past years, the Houthi group has constantly renounced these agreements, Bahsani said.
“This is what made the legitimacy demand guarantees for the implementation of any future agreements,” he added.
The Yemeni official expressed his doubts over the commitment of the Houthi group to the peace map. On the other hand, he noted that the structure of the state and the fate of the Yemenis will be decided in the North and the South during the upcoming arrangements.
“Thus, it will be a great responsibility for the brothers in the North to get rid of these militias and their weapons, and as southerners, we will be supportive of any role in this regard,” he remarked.
According to Bahsani, the Presidencial Council was able to complete many achievements since its formation, mainly restructuring and reactivating the judiciary, reviving efforts to advance the peace process and consolidate stability in the liberated governorates, and addressing many issues within the military.
