Saudi Arabia summons all members of ‘Presidential Leadership Council’ to Riyadh

ADEN, April 23 (YPA) -Saudi Arabia urgently summoned all members of the Presidential Leadership Council to Riyadh, sources familiar with the political situation reported.

The sources confirmed that the Saudi summons included Ahmed bin Mubarak, the newly appointed Prime Minister in the government loyal to Saudi-led coalition.

There were reports indicating that Saudi Arabia is considering changing several ministers in pro-coalition government, which consists of the Islah Party, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), and The General People’s Congress (GPC) loyal to the UAE in Riyadh during 2020.

Sources claimed that the Saudi changes in the government come before “entering into the peace process and the roadmap” with the Sana’a government, following the meeting of the UN envoy to Yemen with the head of the Sana’a negotiating delegation, Mohammed Abdulsalam, in the Omani capital, Muscat.

They pointed out that the STC has asked Saudi Arabia to restructure the Leadership Council headed by Al-Alimi as it was before the “Riyadh Agreement 2”, to consist of only 3 members excluding the Islah Party.

Saudi Arabia is likely to move towards reducing the influence of the STC in Aden and the rest of the southern regions based on a proposal submitted by Al-Alimi to Prince Khalid bin Salman to curb the irresponsible actions of the STC towards the “Leadership Council” members and the pro-coalition government over the past years.

This comes amidst Saudi efforts to expand militarily in Aden and the rest of the provinces controlled by factions loyal to the UAE through the so-called “Dera Al-Watan” forces established by Riyadh at the beginning of 2023 to support the authorities of Al-Alimi and to increase its presence in the eastern provinces of Yemen, which it considers its strategic depth away from the UAE.

E.M