Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Turiq, Yemen’s Ambassador to Ankara answered our questions about the negotiation process with the Houthis, the Gaza war and developments in the Red Sea.
At what stage are the negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthis? Do you think a permanent political solution is possible in Yemen?
Negotiations are continuing and the file is currently with our brothers in Oman and Saudi Arabia. However, negotiations are stalled by the Houthis’ lack of commitment to peace. A political solution is possible, but only if the Houthis accept that they have equal rights to Yemenis and that they should not carry weapons and monopolize power in the name of religious sanctity. Otherwise, their attitude will not be accepted by Yemenis.
Did the Houthis’ unilateral release of 100 prisoners at the end of last month make a positive contribution to the negotiations?
Yes, it was a positive step, but it does not meet Yemeni leaders’ desire for the mutual release of all captives. Additionally, the number of released captives is quite low, and it is possible that these people were replaced by new captives.
The massacre in Gaza naturally overshadowed the political crisis in Yemen. While the targeting of Israel-related ships by the Houthis, with whom your government is negotiating, to support the people of Gaza is appreciated by the region and especially the Arab people, it also attracts the reaction of Western countries, especially the USA. As an official from a different side in Yemen, how do you evaluate the anti-Israeli actions of the Houthis?
Yemenis stand with the Palestinian cause in the past, present, and future. However, although these actions of the Houthis are seemingly well-intentioned, they actually have bad intentions underneath. Yemenis are the ones most affected by what is happening in the Red Sea, and the effects of the problems in this region are quite significant. The entire region and the world must take responsibility to confront these threats.
Another crisis that is overshadowed by the Gaza crisis is the famine problem in Yemen. Is the Yemeni government implementing a plan to solve this problem with its own resources, other than efforts to provide more humanitarian aid?
Yemen is suffering before and after the events in Gaza, especially after the Houthis blocked oil and gas exports. Efforts are ongoing to improve the economic situation, but these are not enough to meet the current crisis. Yemen urgently needs regional and international support to resolve the current crisis.
In addition to China’s humanitarian aid for Yemen, its investment plans were also brought to the agenda. Are there any investments at the moment? Are there any projects in this direction? On the other hand, China also mentioned that it wanted to play a facilitating role in the Yemen crisis. How do you take this?
We appreciate China as a great state and hope that it will play an active role for peace in Yemen. We welcome friendly countries that want to play a similar role to strive for real peace.
Yemeni administrators stated that they wanted to further develop relations with Türkiye. Are there concrete negotiations and cooperation in areas such as trade and security?
Yemen-Türkiye relations are historic and developing every day. We are in harmony with Türkiye in political and economic fields, especially within the framework of the Saudi Arabia-Egypt-Türkiye rapprochement. Yemen is a promising country that opens the doors to commercial and economic cooperation when security and peace are achieved, and Turkey is at the forefront of this cooperation.
