{"id":29066,"date":"2019-01-14T09:24:17","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T09:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=29066"},"modified":"2019-01-14T09:24:17","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T09:24:17","slug":"pompeo-and-mbs-agree-on-importance-of-yemen-de-escalation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=29066","title":{"rendered":"Pompeo and MBS agree on ‘importance’ of Yemen de-escalation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed on the importance of de-escalation in military operations in Yemen amid United Nations peace efforts to the end the conflict.<\/p>\n

“On #Yemen, agreed on need for continued de-escalation and adherence to Sweden agreements, especially cease-fire and redeployment in #Hudaydah,” the US embassy in Riyadh tweeted on Monday after a meeting between Pompeo and the crown prince.<\/p>\n

The Iranian-allied Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government agreed during peace talks in Sweden in December on a ceasefire in Hodeidah and to withdraw troops from the strategic Red Sea port city.<\/p>\n

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.@SecPompeo<\/a> met today with Crown Prince #MohammedbinSalman<\/a>. On #Yemen<\/a>, agreed on need for continued de-escalation and adherence to Sweden agreements, especially cease-fire and redeployment in #Hudaydah<\/a>. A comprehensive political solution is only way to the end the conflict. pic.twitter.com\/zTFAByZqH9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Mission to KSA (@USAinKSA) January 14, 2019<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pompeo is in Saudi Arabia<\/a> on the latest leg of his regional tour, with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi<\/a> and the blockade of neighbouring Qatar expected to be high on the agenda.<\/p>\n

The top US diplomat arrived in the Saudi capital early on Monday, and is also set to meet King Salman bin Abdul Aziz.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pompeo met Qatari officials a day earlier in Doha, where he called for an end to the 19-month blockade of the Gulf state by a quartet of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE.<\/p>\n

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Analysis: Pompeo pushes for end to Gulf dispute during Qatar visit (7:00)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The bloc accuses\u00a0Qatar<\/a> of supporting groups it has proscribed as “terrorist groups”, a charge Doha vehemently denies.<\/p>\n

“We are all more powerful when we are working together and disputes are limited,” Pompeo said at a joint news conference with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Attempts at mediation between Qatar and the blockading nations have stalled, as highlighted by the recent resignation of US envoy Anthony Zinni – who quit because of an apparent “lack of will” on behalf of “regional leaders” for regional reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Khashoggi murder<\/h2>\n

A pressing issue during talks in Riyadh is the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October last year. The Washington Post columnist’s slaying by a Saudi hit squad prompted international outrage, especially among US media outlets and politicians.<\/p>\n

Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have strongly hinted that the killing could not have taken place without the authorisation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

US politicians have called for tough action<\/a> against the prince, but President Donald Trump<\/a> and Pompeo have so far been reluctant to directly implicate the royal or issue any punitive measures.<\/p>\n

Instead, Pompeo has called on the Saudis to ensure Khashoggi’s killers are held accountable<\/a>, avoiding any suggestion that Prince Mohammed was involved.<\/p>\n

It is not clear whether Pompeo will meet Prince Mohammed in Riyadh on Monday.<\/p>\n

Long seen as a royal family insider, Khashoggi found himself on the wrong side of the crown prince for publicly criticising some of his policies.<\/p>\n

Pompeo is due to visit Oman<\/a> next but will cut short his tour<\/a> and miss a scheduled visit in Kuwait due to a death in his family, the US State Department said, adding he would visit the country “at an agreeable time”.<\/p>\n

His tour comes amid conflicts raging in Syria<\/a> and Yemen<\/a>, while the US is trying to ensure a unified front against Iran<\/a>, which it accuses of expanding its political and military footprint in the Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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US secretary of state calls on Gulf states to end dispute\u00a0(2:35)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed on the importance of de-escalation in military operations in Yemen amid United Nations peace efforts to the end the conflict. “On #Yemen, agreed on need for continued de-escalation and adherence to Sweden agreements, especially cease-fire and redeployment in #Hudaydah,” the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":29067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}