The UAE has welcomed Saudi's Arabia's efforts to act in the best interests of Yemen's people, after escalating tension between the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and the ruling Presidential Leadership Council (PLC).
"The United Arab Emirates welcomed the brotherly efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support security and stability in the Republic of Yemen, and commended its role in serving the interests of the Yemeni people and fulfilling their legitimate aspirations for stability and prosperity," the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
Saudi Arabia leads an anti-Houthi coalition of which the UAE is a member. Riyadh has warned that recent military action by the STC in Yemeni provinces harm the interests of the southern cause and the wider nation.
"The UAE affirmed its commitment to supporting all efforts that contribute to strengthening stability and development in Yemen, which will positively impact the security and prosperity of the region," the UAE said.
The STC, whose goal is the restoration of an independent state in the south, has taken control of Hadhramaut and Mahra from other pro-government forces, effectively consolidating control over all of southern Yemen.
Saudi Arabia hosts senior Yemeni government and PLC figures, and condemned the STC takeover.
The STC justified it actions by accusing the PLC and other pro-government factions of failing to launch a serious campaign to push the rebel Houthis from their northern strongholds, including Sanaa, Yemen's capital, which they took over in 2014.
The STC is the most powerful armed faction in southern Yemen. Three of the PLC's eight members are part of the STC. It has rejected previous calls to withdraw from the two provinces and said its next target is Houthi-controlled Sanaa.
However, Saudi Arabia renewed the call for withdrawal from Hadhramaut and Mahra "in an urgent and orderly manner", saying it "remains hopeful that the public interest will prevail through ending the escalation" from the STC.
On Thursday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry called for "co-operation among all Yemeni factions and components to exercise restraint, and avoid any measures that could destabilise security and stability, which may result in undesirable consequences". It insisted the "southern cause" should be "resolved through dialogue among all Yemeni parties within the comprehensive political solution in Yemen".
The Yemeni government welcomed the Saudi statement and said security measures undertaken outside the state's institutional frameworks constitute an "unacceptable source of tension".
Yemen, which lies between Saudi Arabia and an important shipping route on the Red Sea, was split into northern and southern states until 1990. The STC describes independence as an aspiration of all southerners.
