RIYADH — Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyad Yassin told Al Arabiya News Channel on Monday that President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi has announced the launch of the Yemeni Dialogue Conference in Riyadh to be held on May 17, 2015. It is expected that various Yemeni political groups and blocks, with the exception of the Houthi militias and deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, will participate in the conference. It is estimated that around 250 individuals will attend. The ruling General People's Congress Party announced its support for Yemeni sovereignty and legitimacy and its participation in the national dialogue conference that will convene in Riyadh, thereby joining all other Yemeni political parties and blocs partaking in the conference apart from the Houthis. President Hadi had called for all discussions and negotiations between the various Yemeni parties seeking a solution for the ongoing crisis to be held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, instead of Sanaa. Hadi was quoted as saying: “As neither Aden nor Taiz are acceptable for some, I call for a moving of the dialogue to the headquarters of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.” A coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, rattled by what they saw as expanding Iranian influence in the Arabian Peninsula, is trying to stop Houthi militias and forces loyal to Saleh taking control of Yemen. Peace talks had collapsed after Houthi militias went on the offensive in recent months, seizing the capital Sanaa and advancing on Aden.
