Houthi military hints push Saudi Arabia to expedite southern dialogue

Saudi Arabia has reintroduced the Southern-Southern Dialogue project on Wednesday after having previously cancelled it. This coincides with Sana’a’s hints at military escalation.

Exclusive – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

In recent hours, Saudi Arabia has summoned several southern leaders.

Among those who arrived in Riyadh, according to southern media, is Saleh bin Farid Al-Awlaki, the most prominent founder of the Transitional Council and also a defector from it.

Sources explained that the invitation of the new southern leaders comes as part of Saudi Arabia’s resumption of arrangements for a southern-southern dialogue.

Through the anticipated dialogue, Saudi Arabia is attempting to push towards a southern consensus formula that would end the file of the Emirati-loyal Transitional Council.

It is unclear whether Saudi Arabia’s decision to expedite the southern dialogue, which was supposed to take place before the past Ramadan, is part of arrangements to move towards a peace agreement or in anticipation of a new military escalation in Yemen.

The forces that Saudi Arabia is focusing on inviting confirm that it is trying to sideline the strongest southern force on the ground, represented by the Transitional Council, against which it declared war earlier this year and decided to formally dissolve it.