UN talks not for reconciliation

Yemen's exiled president said his government will not negotiate with Iran-backed rebels at UN-sponsored peace talks due to open in Switzerland this weekend, in comments broadcast yesterday.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said the sole item for discussion would be the implementation of a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council in April demanding that rebels withdraw from the swathes of the country they have seized.

"There will be no negotiations," Hadi told Al-Arabiya television.

"It will be just a discussion about how to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2216. We will have a consultation."

Asked if his government's delegation would discuss reconciliation with the rebel negotiating team, Hadi said: "Not at all."

Yemen's Prime Minister Khaled Bahah echoed Hadi's remarks, telling a news conference in Riyadh that the Geneva meeting will be merely a "consultative" process.

Bahah, who is also vice president, said the exiled government will head to the meeting with only one goal: "implementing 2216 and reinstating the state" overran by Huthis.