Iran welcomes preliminary agreements reached between the Yemeni authorities and the rebels during the UN-backed talks in Stockholm, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Hamza Alkamaly, a member of the Yemeni government delegation to the UN-backed talks in Switzerland and in Sweden, told Sputnik that the Yemeni government had submitted a list of prisoners, including 8,200 names, for further exchange with the rebel movement to the office of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths.
“Iran welcomes initial agreements between Yemeni parties in Stockholm under supervision of UNSG envoy, and strongly supports continuation of talks to achieve final accords on all issues. It is well past time for foreign aggressors to end their airstrikes and crimes against humanity,” Zarif said on Twitter.
The Yemeni conflict between the government forces, led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the rebels has been raging for several years. The coalition carries out airstrikes against the rebels at Hadi’s request since March 2015.
Last week the UN-backed reconciliation talks kicked off in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. During the negotiations the parties discussed cessation of hostilities in the western province of Taiz, as well as the situation around the airport in the country’s capital of Sanaa, among other issues.