Saudi Arabia Hands over File of “Presidential Council” to United States
Saudi Arabia, officially handed over the file of the Presidential Council, the pro-coalition authority in southern Yemen, to the United States, in the wake of a crisis between the two parties that reached the point of Washington hinting at a presidential solution.
The US ambassador to Yemen, Stephen Fagin, resumed his one-on-one meetings with members of the Council. During the past hours, Fagin held meetings that included Al-Zubaidi, Al-Alimi and Abu Zaraah Al-Muharami, a day after a similar meeting he had with Sultan Al-Aradah.
Although the meetings did not deal with new issues, with the exception of Washington’s attempt to lead consensus within the presidential administration, however, its timing, according to observers, was the resumption of the subjugation of power in Yemen to the United States, after Saudi Arabia and UAE tried to remove it from the American dress within a path aimed at neutralizing Washington from the file, it began by removing Hadi and proceeding with direct negotiations with Sana’a.
Washington had escalated Yemen file during the past few days, as it hosted a conference of Yemeni leaders against the coalition. At the same time, it is trying to pressure Saudi Arabia to release the detained leaders, headed by Hadi, amid reports of its efforts to restore him to power.
Saudi-Emirati relations have been suffering from a deterioration since Biden’s ascension and his start of a new path in Yemen file that contradicts the Saudi agenda.