Most important terms of the Riyadh agreement: Unifying Yemen, breaking the Iran-Qatar thorn, and disciplining the Brotherhood

Ali Ragab

With the signing of the Riyadh agreement between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council, votes affiliated with the Brotherhood’s Yemeni Congregation for Reform Party (Islah) in the legitimate government began to stand against this Saudi-sponsored agreement as part of the Brotherhood’s efforts to unilaterally rule Yemen.

On Sunday, October 27, the leadership of the International Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced the repositioning of coalition forces in Aden to be led by Saudi Arabia and redeployed according to the requirements of the current operations.

The coalition explained that the repositioning comes as part of its ongoing efforts to coordinate military and security operations plans in Yemen and strengthen humanitarian and relief efforts, in addition to strengthening efforts to secure waterways adjacent to the Yemeni coast in general and fight against terrorism on all Yemeni territory, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Riyadh agreement and unifying the Yemeni ranks

For his part, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said, “The relentless endeavors and good efforts made by our brotherly Saudi Arabia to reach the Riyadh agreement and unify the Yemeni ranks are historic. It is important to focus on confronting the Houthi coup and its aggression. Yemen, through this agreement, enters a new stage; its success is linked to commitment and the unification of priorities and objectives.”

Gargash added in a series of tweets, “The coalition’s statement on the positioning and redeployment of forces in Aden is a result of good and capable Saudi efforts. The coalition’s political tools are complementary to its military capability, and we move together with confidence in the unification and strengthening of the ranks. The UAE will remain supportive of the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] in the interest of brotherly Yemen and to achieve the coalition’s objectives.”

“The Saudi leadership of the coalition forces in Aden is a positive development in favor of stability, unifying priorities and mobilizing efforts,” he continued, adding, “We are proud of the victories of our forces in the coalition efforts, and the UAE continues to work with the Kingdom for a better future for Yemen and its brotherly people.”

Meanwhile, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani confirmed in a series of tweets that the Riyadh agreement is a step towards salvation from the Houthis. He stressed that the agreement will unite the efforts of Yemenis to face the Houthi coup within the framework of constitutional legitimacy and will preserve the national constants, adding that it adheres to the three references of the Security Council Resolution 2216, the Gulf initiative, and the outcomes of the national dialogue, and it also enhances the presence of state institutions in the liberated provinces.

Details of the agreement

Regarding the details of the agreement, Yemeni presidential adviser and former Foreign Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi confirmed in a series of tweets on October 25 that the Riyadh agreement between the legitimate government and the Southern Transitional Council, which was signed in Aden, includes the formation of a new government that will be divided equally between the southern and northern governorates. He added that the agreement achieves wide reforms, places all military and security formations under the leadership of the ministries of defense and interior, and aims to return the legitimate government to Aden in order to activate all state institutions and work to pay salaries and dues to the military and civilian sectors in the liberated provinces.

Mekhlafi pointed out that the agreement aims to strengthen Yemen’s unity in the face of the Houthi coup and the Iranian project, in line with the objectives of the Arab coalition, with the aim of restoring the state, as requested by Yemen’s legitimate President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

A step towards liberation

For his part, Southern Transitional Council spokesman Nizar Haitham said in a statement, “The Riyadh agreement represents a strategic step on the road to achieve the project of the Southern Transitional Council and its objectives of liberation and independence.”

“By signing the Saudi-sponsored Riyadh agreement, the Southern Transitional Council succeeded in establishing a new and advanced phase in which the South will have official representation at regional and international tables, including formal partnership with the Saudi-led Arab coalition at all political, military, economic, security and development levels in order to serve our national cause and enhance our local, regional and international presence,” he added.

Brotherhood disturbance and Qatari anxiety

The Riyadh agreement and the process of uniting ranks against the Houthi militia bothers the Brotherhood and Qatar, because the agreement constitutes a major step in countering the Houthi militia and ending the Brotherhood’s fortunes in Yemen.

Yemeni Interior Minister Ahmed al-Maysari, who is close to the Brotherhood and Qatar, attacked the agreement, describing it as an entrenchment in the administration of the Yemeni state.

Local media quoted Maysari as saying on Saturday, October 26 during an event in the province of Shabwah that he refuses to form what he called a “government controlled by Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” referring to the government expected to emerge from the Riyadh agreement when it comes into force.

Meanwhile, media close to the Southern Transitional Council reported that Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Abdullah al-Alimi, head of President Hadi’s office, also rejected the agreement, calling it a rebellion against the Yemeni state.

Ahmar described the southern people as rebels in a report submitted to a meeting of President Hadi’s advisers, which he then deliberately published a description of on his Twitter account.

“The vice president refers to the good efforts made to reach the draft agreement, which affirmed the keenness of everyone, especially the brothers in the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia], to end the rebellion and return the state and its institutions, and to support legitimacy under the leadership of His Excellency President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, emphasizing the three references and decisions of the Riyadh conference,” Ahmar said.

Painful blow

For his part, Southern Yemeni political and media analyst Saleh Abu Oudhil considers the Riyadh agreement to be a blow to the projects of the Brotherhood and Qatar in Yemen, especially in the South.

Abu Oudhil added that there is no doubt that Islah and its regional and international allies suffered a painful blow in Yemen following the Riyadh agreement. The agreement ends the Brotherhood’s control of Hadi’s government and restores the rights of those in the South, but it will lose much of its dominance in the coming days, he said.

“The Riyadh agreement, which the Southern Transitional Council signed, is counterbalanced by the other party’s stalling and procrastination, and the creation of justifications that are no longer acceptable today after Doha’s influence was confirmed in a government whose projects are closer to the Iranian project than the Saudi-led Arab project,” Abu Oudhil said.