YEMEN

Saudi Arabia announced what it called an “initiative to end the Yemeni crisis”. But the announcement was less a new initiative than a statement of the Saudis’ pre-existing bargaining position with the Huthis, specifically their willingness to concede to reopening Sanaa airport and easing some barriers to trade into Hodeida port in exchange for a customs revenue-sharing scheme first discussed at talks in Sweden in 2018. Riyadh is not, however, willing to meet the Huthis’ demands of a complete lifting of restrictions on ports and airports. Crisis Group expert Peter Salisbury says the good news is that negotiations over a ceasefire continue. The bad news is that the parties’ positions on what is needed to get there remain quite far apart.