Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr Riad Yassin hailed the relations between Qatar and Yemen, describing them as “frank and transparent.
In an interview with Qatari daily Al Sharq, published yesterday, Dr Riad Yassin praised the relief efforts provided by  Qatar in all Yemeni cities and the wounded Qataris who were ready to sacrifice their lives to rescue the Yemeni people.
He underlined the strength of the Yemeni-GCC relations, saying: “We are now at a new stage (1+6), which means Yemen with the Gulf States, and this idea was crystallised in Saudi Arabia. We will move forward from the 1+ 6 to be fully integrated 7.”
On the Yemeni affairs, he said: “We are committed to the decision of President Abd-Rabbu Mansur Hadi, and we will go to Geneva.”
The Yemeni Foreign Minister called on the Houthis to respond to the demands of the Yemeni people, implement the United Nations Resolution 2216, reject violence and force, hand over their weapons to the state and to immediately release all detainees, saying such steps are in the right direction.
Regarding the possibility of a political solution with Houthi rebels and the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yassin said there is no solution at the moment, adding: “When a militia uses military force and takes over the state’s institutions, how to deal with it”?
He added that the goal is not to eliminate the Houthis, but to eliminate what they are doing - criminal violence.
Responding to a question whether he expects Russia’s intervention in Yemen, as in Syria, Dr Riad Yassin said: “We consider Russia’s role in Yemen is balanced among all parties, and I met the Russian ambassador in Manama who assured me that Russia respects the UN resolution, although it abstained from voting, but did not use veto, and will co-operate with the international community for its implementation.”
The Yemeni Foreign Minister expressed concern about the Russian intervention in Syria, “because this will deepen the crisis, especially that Russia believes that it can succeed in Yemen after failing in Afghanistan and Iraq and later in Syria”.