Saudi agreement with Qatar proves siege, policy of aggression reached dead end: Yemen

Picture shows Abu Samra border crossing between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. (Via Twitter)

The Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah movement says Saudi Arabia’s decision to ease the blockade of Qatar and open its borders with the country proves the failure of the policies of siege and aggression.

“What is happening in the [Persian] Gulf region confirms that the policies of siege, war and aggression have reached a dead end,” Mohammed Abdel-Salam said on Monday night.

He said mutual respect is the safest and shortest way to establish security and stability.

The agreement announced Monday would allow the resumption of commerce and travel between Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first time since June 2017, when Riyadh along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of meddling in regional affairs and supporting “terrorism.”

Qatar has repeatedly denied the allegations and said it was targeted because it followed an independent foreign policy.

The Riyadh-Doha deal is said to be a prelude to a broader agreement to end the boycott of Qatar, which led to one of the worst ever diplomatic disputes in the Persian Gulf.

Saudi, Qatar to reopen land, maritime borders after three years of feud

Riyadh has reached an agreement with Doha to end a three-year feud by reopening the Saudi airspace and land and sea borders to Qatar as of Monday, Kuwait’s foreign minister said in televised comments.

Separately, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council welcomed the reopening of airspace and land and sea borders between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi expressed hope that the lifting of the Saudi Arabia-led blockade of Qatar would herald the beginning of an end to ongoing wars, and would help end the atrocious military aggression against Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the Riyadh-friendly government of former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power.

Saudi blockade of Yemen ‘a new crisis’ amid pandemic: Minister

Yemen’s health minister says the ongoing blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia against the war-torn country has created a new crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The aggressors also imposed a blockade on Yemen’s airports, seaports and land borders, targeting imports of food, medicine, fuel, and essential goods, most of which the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country needs to purchase from abroad.

Last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the death toll from the Saudi war on Yemen at 233,000.

The popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending Yemen against the Saudi-led military alliance.