The discreet talks between the kingdom and the Houthis have dragged on for more than a year, in parallel with Griffiths` efforts to reach an agreement on a ceasefire. The agreement, first announced in November and revived in July, was brokered by Riyadh to end a standoff between Yemen`s internationally recognized government and southern separatists who are both part of the coalition that has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since 2015. The statement added that, under the resolution, the Southern Transitional Council will rescind self rule, implement the Riyadh agreement and appoint a governor for Aden, and Yemen`s prime minister will form a government within 30 days from both northern and southern Yemen. (Report by Hesham Abdul Khalek and Raya Jalabi; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) DUBAI (Reuters) – Yemen`s southern separatists have pulled out of commissions that are implementing a November agreement to end a power struggle in the south that had opened a new front in the country`s multifaceted war. A STC spokesman told Reuters that the STC negotiating team had withdrawn from the joint commissions working on the implementation of the Riyadh agreement. An agreement between them on power-sharing in November, the „Riyad Agreement,“ was never implemented. In April, the STC declared autocracy and the two sides fought in Aden and other southern regions. „The agreement of the Yemeni parties to accelerate the implementation of the agreement reflects a serious desire for dialogue,“ tweeted Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman. CAIRO (Reuters) – Separatists in southern Yemen have suspended their participation in consultations on a power-sharing agreement in the south known as the Riyadh Agreement, according to a statement from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Tuesday. The impact of the suspension on the future of the agreement, which Saudi Arabia has touted as a step towards a broader political solution to a conflict that has raged since 2015, was unclear. The Riyadh Agreement has suffered many setbacks and has never been implemented, but Saudi Arabia made another breakthrough in July to drive the process. STC Vice-President Hani Ben Brik said on Twitter that the suspension of negotiations by the STC was necessary to protest against the „irresponsible behaviour of the parties“ towards the Riyadh agreement.

CAIRO, July 29 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has presented a resolution aimed at speeding up the implementation of the Riyadh agreement, the Saudi state-run news agency said in a statement on Wednesday. The recent violence in Shabwa is part of an ongoing struggle for influence between forces loyal to Hadi and southern forces. The separatists accuse Hadi`s government of mismanagement and corruption and recaptured the interim capital Aden in August, leading to talks that led to the Riyadh agreement. The U.N. is working to secure a face-to-face meeting before the end of the year, as well as an agreement on a joint declaration that would halt all air, ground and naval hostilities, two of the sources said. The United Nations Yemen envoy said the initiative was an important step toward a peaceful resolution of the five-year conflict. Reports by Nayera Abdallah, Alaa Swilam and Ahmed Tolba; Letter from Lisa Barrington; Editing by Sandra Maler, Leslie Adler and Michael Perry Riyadh has requested more security assurances from the Houthis, including a buffer zone along the borders with northern Yemen until a U.N.-backed transitional government is formed, the sources said. The Aden standoff had opened a new front in the nearly five-year war and fractured a Saudi-led coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that ousted Hadi`s government from the capital, Sanaa, in the north in the late 2014. Riyadh wants to prevent another front developing among its allies in Yemen`s multifaceted war, which has been locked in military stalemate for years.