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Yemen Campaign to Continue Until Country is Stable: Saudi

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the Arab Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt on Saturday.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH (IINA) – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Saturday vowed that the Saudi-led military operation ‘Decisive Storm’ against Houthi militias in Yemen will not stop until the country is stable and safe, saying the Iranian-backed militias pose a threat to the region’s security.
The campaign “will continue until it achieves its goals for the Yemeni people to enjoy security,” King Salman said in a speech at the opening of the 26th Arab League Summit in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. The Kingdom has vowed to do whatever it takes” to prevent Hadi’s overthrow, accusing Iran of backing the attempted takeover by the Houthis, who have seized swathes of the country.
Addressing the Summit, King Salman said that the foreign intervention in Yemen enabled the Houthi militias to overtake the legitimate authority, occupy Sanaa, and disrupt the implementation of the Gulf Initiative which has sought to preserve Yemen’s unity, stability and security. “The response of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to the call of Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to hold the Riyadh Dialogue Conference in Riyadh under the umbrella of GCC General Secretariat meant to provide Yemen a safe passage to stability and to ensure a return to the normal status within the framework of the Gulf Initiative and its implementation mechanism that have enjoyed Arab and international support. As the Houthi militia, backed by regional powers that aim at extending their dominance on Yemen and using it a base for their influence in the region, continues its intransigence and rejection of the warnings of the Yemeni legitimacy, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Security Council and all peace initiatives, and as it moves forward in its aggression against the Yemeni people and its legitimate authority, and threatens the security of the region,” he said adding that  the brotherly and friendly countries participating in the Decisive Storm have accepted the request of Yemen’s President Hadi to deter the Huthi aggression which represents a major threat to the security and stability of the region and the international peace and security.
“As we never wished to have resorted to taking this decision, we emphasize at the same time that Riyadh opens its doors to all Yemeni political parties committed to Yemen’s security and stability, to meet under the umbrella of GCC and within the context of maintaining the legitimacy, rejection of any legitimacy breaching, ensuring the return of the State control over all Yemeni territory, returning to the State all weapons, and holding no threat the security of neighboring States. We hope that those who rebelled against the legitimacy, will listen to the voice of reason and stop depending on the power of foreign forces, and stop tampering with the security of the Yemeni people by promoting sectarian and seeding terrorism.”
The King asserted that the operation will continue until these objectives are achieved, so that the Yemeni people are able to enjoy security and stability. In this context, we express our appreciation and thanks to the countries participating in the operation as well as the countries all over the world supporting this operation which will, Allah Willing, contribute to supporting peace and security in the region and the world.
King Salman also said that the Palestinian cause is at the forefront of the Kingdom’s concerns. The stance of Saudi Arabia is firm as is always based on fundamentals and foundations that aim at achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region, and on the recovery of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their legitimate right to establishing their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, which is consistent with the resolution of international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative in 2002 which was welcomed by the international community and ignored by Israel, he said.
“ Saudi Arabia believes that the time has come for the international community to shoulder its responsibilities, by the issuance of a Security Council resolution adopting the Arab Peace Initiative, exercising its power towards accepting it, and appointing a high international envoy to follow up the implementation of the international resolution relevant to the initiative,” he said. The King said the scourge of extremism and terrorism is among the challenges facing the Arab nation, targeting the security and stability of our countries, and requiring to be vigilant and be in solidarity when taking necessary actions to confront and eradicate its roots.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said Washington shared a “collective goal” with Saudi Arabia to see stability in Yemen. Obama offered support to King Salman in a phone conversation as it emerged the US military had rescued two Saudi pilots forced to eject from their fighter jet over the sea off Yemen after a technical problem.Washington has said it will continue logistical and intelligence support for the Saudi-led campaign.
The summit is expected to focus on creating an Arab military force to fight against the militants, a project foreign ministers have already signed a draft agreement in Thursday’s meeting. The ministers called on the leaders of the Arab League’s 22-member nations to meet within a month to lay out the details of the military force, such as budgeting and coordination. The chaos in Libya, where rival militant groups attempt to wrest control of the north African nation, and defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will also be on top of this year’s agenda.

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