Ankara welcomes Yemen peace talks in Saudi

ANKARA

Türkiye has said it welcomes talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war in Yemen, calling for constructive support from all parties for a lasting solution.

"We welcome the talks hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh with the participation of Oman aimed at advancing the peace process in Yemen, and call on all parties to constructively support the peace process to achieve a lasting solution in Yemen," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Türkiye will continue to resolutely support preservation of the national unity and territorial integrity of brotherly Yemen, it added.

The five days of talks, which represented the highest-level public negotiations with the Houthis in the kingdom, come as Saudi Arabia tries a renewed bid to end the yearslong coalition war it launched on Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry in a statement early on Sept. 20 marking the end of the trip “welcomed the positive results of the serious discussions regarding reaching a road map to support the peace path in Yemen.”

The trip marks the first official visit by Houthi officials to the kingdom since the war broke out in Yemen in 2014, after the Iran-aligned group ousted a Saudi-backed government in Sanaa.

The first round of the Oman-mediated consultations between Riyadh and Sanaa, which are running in parallel to U.N. peace efforts, was held in April when Saudi envoys visited Sanaa.

The group has been fighting against a Saudi-led military alliance since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and left 80 percent of Yemen's population dependent on humanitarian aid.

The peace initiatives have gained momentum since arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish ties in a deal brokered by China.