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The Yemeni internationally-recognized government has introduced its own vision on applying the first phase of Hodeida deal and solving disputes with the Houthi group over the pact reached by two rivals last December in Stockholm, said a source at the government.
The vision, introduced by the government at Wednesday meeting in Riyadh between Yemeni Vice-president Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar and the UN Envoy MartinGriffiths, includes Houthi departure from Hodeida city and its ports within a predefined period of time, after which a certain plan would be applied in case of non-implementation, the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat paper quoted the source as saying.
According to the vision, security in the city and ports would be trusted to security and coastguard forces listed in payrolls of 2014 under the Yemeni law, he added.
Ahmar-Griffiths meeting discussed resumption of the Sweden deal, which had been reneged, said the government-appointed deputy governor of Hodeida.
The government reiterated adherence to correcting the UN-led approach to applying the pact in Hodeida, as a main condition to resume dealing with the UN envoy, and based on the UN Secretary-General's promises Waleed al-Qudaimi added.
Houthis have breached the ceasefire in more than 6,500 occasion, in absence of monitoring by the UN team, he claimed calling the UN to consider this issue seriously.
Griffiths is expected Tuesday to visit Moscow, where he would meet with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as part of the UN envoy's efforts to resume peace process in Yemen.
Griffiths visit to Russia is important, said a UN official, as the country is a key partner and a permanent member in the UN Security Council.
But, a Yemeni writer sees, the visit this time suggests more complications in the Yemeni crisis and "new details of futility, especially with Russia now interested in Yemen, the south in particular."
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Wadhah al-Jalil has correlated the UN envoy visit toprevious statements by the Russian Ambassador Vladimir Dedushkin, who had highlighted the importance of the south of Yemen and the need to be suitably represented in any potential peaceful settlement.
Griffiths trip would include the UAE and Oman, where he is reportedly expected to meet with the Houthi spokesman, Mohamed Abdul Salam.
Yemen has been racked by a 4-year bloody conflictbetween the internationally-recognized Yemeni government's forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who ousted the government in 2014.
Parties to the 4-year war in Yemen, after 8-day peace talks in Sweden, reached on the 13th of last December an agreement providing for ceasefire in Hodeida and redeployment of both sides' forces, exchanging prisoners and alleviating blockade imposed by Houthis on Taiz.
But none of this has taken place so far, with both sides trading blames for trying to thwart the deal.
The Red Sea city of Hodeida and its ports have been under Houthi control since late 2014, while Yemeni joint forces loyal to legitimate government and Arab coalition have massed at the city's fringes since last November seeking to retake the strategic port.
On 14 May, the UN said Houthis had withdrawn from the ports of Salif, Ras Isa and Hodeida in application of the first step of the UN-brokered peace deal. But the government has dismissed the move as "farce", noting that the rebels handed the ports to their own coastguard force.
The conflict hastriggered what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with most of the population in need for a type of humanitarian aid and immediate protection, including 14 million people risking famine and some 1.8 million children suffering malnutrition.
