President Al-Zubaidi Discusses Recent Developments and Peace Efforts with UK Ambassador

President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Vice Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), held today, Tuesday, a virtual meeting with H.E. Abda Sharif, the United Kingdom (Britain) Ambassador to Yemen.

During the meeting, which was attended by Mr. Amr Ali Al-Beidh, member of the STC's Presidium, and Special Representative of the President of the STC, President Al-Zubaidi discussed the latest economic and humanitarian developments in the country, as well as the progress made in the peace process and the UN road map, in light of the Houthi escalation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab strait.

President Al-Zubaidi reiterated the firm stance of the STC and the PLC towards the peace option, noting in the same context that the current time is not appropriate to talk about this option due to the ongoing arrogance and threats of the Houthi militia to international maritime navigation, causing the suffering of citizens in different fields.

The President lauded the unified British, American, and European stance in confronting Houthi threats to international maritime navigation, highlighting that any complacency towards Houthi terrorist acts and piracy against commercial vessels in international waters could encourage other terrorist organizations to follow the same course in other parts of the world.

The meeting touched on the deterioration of service sectors and economic conditions in the capital, Aden, and the liberated governorates. In this regard, President Al-Zubaidi called on the UK government to intervene in this file and play a greater role along with the official brothers in the Arab coalition, and to boost the government's capabilities to improve service sectors and the electricity sector in particular.

For her part, H.E. Ambassador Abda Sharif reiterated her country's support for the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to end the war and bring about peace in Yemen, noting that she agrees with President Al-Zubaidi's perspective that these efforts cannot bear fruit in light of the escalating Houthi threats in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.

The British Ambassador also affirmed her government's commitment to defensive operations in the face of Houthi terrorist attacks targeting international shipping lanes, noting that these attacks have no impact on the situation in the Gaza Strip, but their harm falls primarily on Yemenis.

In another context, the British Ambassador expressed her regret for the suffering of citizens in Aden and other governorates due to power outages for long hours, affirming that her government is paying special attention to this file and will make its utmost efforts to help find effective solutions to this dilemma.

At the end, the British Ambassador commended the great efforts made by President Al-Zubaidi to ease the difficulties facing the international organizations operating in Aden and other governorates, confirming that this will help international organizations play a greater role in providing relief and humanitarian services smoothly and easily to the needy and most vulnerable groups.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Imad Mohammed Ahmed, Director of the Office of the Vice President of the PLC.