Southern Transitional Council delegation arrives in Saudi Arabia for Yemen talks

Saudi and UAE called on STC and Yemeni government to resolve their differences

The talks will look at tensions in Aden, which has recently been hit by fighting. AFP

A delegation of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, including its head Aidarous Al Zubaidi, arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday evening for talks with the Yemeni government.

"Our delegation led by the head of the council Aidarous Al Zubaidi and four other members arrived in Jeddah tonight in response to the brotherly Saudi-Emirati call to engage in the Saudi-sponsored talks to prove that we are positive, and we are ready to seriously engage in the talks," STC spokesman Nyzar Haiytham told The National.

But Mr Haiytham said it was unclear if the government was ready to “take part in the talks or is going to continue its stubbornness".

“What is important for us in the STC is that we respond positively to the call we received from our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and act with their initiative in a responsible way," he said.

On August 20 the STC, a secessionist movement, sent a delegation to Jeddah for talks but the Yemeni government refused to meet them, insisting that the council withdraw from military bases and state institutions in Aden.

Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on Sunday that internal unity and continued dialogue between the Yemeni government and the STC were essential to address and confront the challenge of the Houthi coup.

Last month the UAE and Saudi Arabia called for the government and the STC to attend reconciliation talks in Jeddah so they could resume their united front against the Houthi rebels.

The call came after fighting between pro-government forces and those loyal to the STC erupted in Aden.

The council's troops took control of military bases and the seat of the Yemeni government.