US to discuss power transfer in Yemen

US Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/193187.html

The US Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein is to meet with the officials of Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime to discuss a power transition to his deputy.

Feierstein, who has urged Saleh to stay in Saudi Arabia where he was relocated for medical treatment, will negotiate with Yemeni authorities the possibility of transferring power to Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi.

“We believe … dealing with the political, economic and security problems in Yemen cannot happen without a transfer of power in the country, and the arrival of new leadership in the country,” he said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Saleh, who has been in office since 1978, has repeatedly rejected a plan proposed by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) that offers him full immunity against any accountability in return for his resignation.

The US ambassador to Yemen also met with the country's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi in the capital city of Sana'a last week.

However, his frequent meetings with the ruling Yemeni officials have infuriated the opposition groups and the Youth Revolution -- the key organizer of anti-regime marches -- who accuse Washington of interfering in the country to secure its own interests.

The Youth Revolution has called on mass protesters to urge the US and its ally, Saudi Arabia, to stop meddling in Yemen's internal affairs.

Saleh and five other high-ranking Yemeni officials were evacuated to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment following a rocket attack on the Yemeni presidential palace on June 3.

There are conflicting reports on Saleh's possible return, with some saying that he has vowed to come back to Yemen as soon as he recovers from his burns and injuries.