SANAA/RIYADH, (Reuters) – Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh should hand over power to his vice president and allow the opposition to lead a transition government that would prepare new elections, Gulf Arab countries said yesterday.
Saleh’s government and the opposition will meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Yemen’s “unity, security and stability”, foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council said in a statement after talks in the Saudi capital.
“The formation of a national unity government under the leadership of the opposition which has the right to form committees…to draw up a constitution and hold elections,” was a key principle of the Gulf-sponsored meeting between the two sides, they said.
The meeting between the opposition and Saleh would be based on the understanding that Saleh transfers power to his vice president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. No date was scheduled for such a meeting.
As such, it would be based on the understanding that Saleh transfers power to his vice president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. No date was scheduled for the meeting.
The GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been pushing Saleh over the past week to hold talks with opposition parties after two months of protests against his 32-year-long rule.
