Says UAE has decided to leave Yemen and if that indeed is the case, Saudi Arabia ‘will take responsibility’
Riyadh also demanded that all Emirati forces be withdrawn from the country, a request which the UAE said it had complied with.PHOTO: STORY BLOCKS
Saudi Arabia said it hoped to have “strong, positive” ties with the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom’s foreign minister said on Monday, but stressed that future relations were contingent on Abu Dhabi’s complete withdrawal from Yemen.
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During a press conference in Warsaw today, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said Riyadh was “always keen” to have a “strong, positive relationship with the UAE”.
“The UAE has now decided to leave Yemen and I think if that indeed is the case and the UAE has completely left the issue of Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take responsibility,” he added.
“I think that will be the building block for making sure that the relationship with the UAE continues strong and continues to serve the interests not just of both countries but the region.”
The two neighbours and economic powerhouses of the Gulf are traditional allies, but in the past few years they have increasingly become rivals when it comes to business. The rivalry turned into a public row over Yemen after UAE-backed separatists seized swathes of land late last year, including areas along the Saudi border, infuriating Riyadh which retaliated with air strikes and through allies on the ground.
Riyadh also demanded that all Emirati forces be withdrawn from the country, a request which the UAE said it had complied with.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government is a patchwork of groups held together by their opposition to the Houthis, who ousted them from the capital Sanaa in 2014 and now rule much of the country’s north.
