Saudi talks close to unifying Yemen govt, STC

Yemeni envoy in France says Yemeni government, Southern Transitional Council are close to deal that would end power struggle in Aden.

PARIS - Yemen's Saudi-backed government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces are close to an agreement that would end a power struggle in Aden and see coalition forces take temporary control of the port city, the government's envoy in France said on Monday.

"We are close to a deal," Yemen's ambassador in France and former foreign minister Reyad Yassin Abdullah told Reuters in Paris.

Saudi Arabia, leader of an Arab coalition battling Yemen's Huthi movement, has been hosting indirect talks for a month between the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the STC to end the stand-off that had opened a new front in the multi-faceted war.

Abdullah added that coalition forces would be temporarily deployed in the southern port city and that the aim was to have an agreement in the next few weeks.

When asked whether Saudi Arabia was also considering a proposal by Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi movement for some form of ceasefire, Abdullah said Saudi was, but he expressed doubts on the Huthi sincerity.

"Yes, but the one condition is that the Huthis stop attacking inside Yemen ... it's serious but depends on the Huthis."