UN sponsored Yemen peace talks set for early December in Sweden: US

Peace talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen have been set for early December in Sweden, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said. The Yemeni groups of the two sides have been invited whereas US allies, including Saudi Arabia and UAE who have imposed war on Yemen are also taken on board.

Mattis said the Saudis and United Arab Emirates “are fully on board, by the way.”
“It looks like that very, very early in December, up in Sweden, we’ll see both sides will be up there.”
Mattis last month made a surprise call for a ceasefire in Yemen and urged warring parties to enter negotiations within the next 30 days. The United Nations has now pushed that deadline back to the end of the year.
Mattis’ latest comments came as the US State Department said talks must not be delayed any longer, and UN envoy Martin Griffiths was in Sanaa for talks with rebel leaders to push them to join the peace talks in Sweden.
Griffiths is spearheading the biggest push in two years to end the war, which has sparked what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
It also comes a day after US President Donald Trump vowed to stick with Saudi Arabia as an ally despite the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul October 2.
The CIA has reportedly concluded that the murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, but Trump chose to overlook that in favor of the larger relationship with the kingdom.
“On the Khashoggi affair, presidents don’t often get the freedom to work with unblemished partners in all things,” Mattis said.
“If you want to end the war you’re going to deal with Saudi. You can’t say I’m not going to deal with them,” he said.
US weapons
Washington has been providing bombs and other weapons, as well as intelligence support, to the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi, but recently ended its refueling support for Saudi warplanes.
The Huthis have said repeatedly that they need stronger security guarantees from the international community that they will be given safe passage through the crippling air and sea blockade the coalition has enforced since March 2015.