PLC President: State Has Established Firm Deterrence While Keeping the Door Open to Just Peace

  Riyadh

His Excellency President Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council, received a European Parliament delegation on Sunday, headed by Austrian MEP Reinhold Lopatka, and comprising members from Sweden, Germany and Spain, along with a number of officials from the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Arabian Peninsula.

During the meeting, the President welcomed the delegation and briefed them on the latest national developments, emphasizing the recurring Iranian violations of Yemeni sovereignty and the attempts by Houthi militias, supported by the regime in Tehran, to impose air travel routes outside the authority of the state and established legal frameworks. 

President Al-Alimi praised the European Union’s steadfast support for the Yemeni people, its continued backing of the government, development programs, humanitarian response and economic reforms. He also commended the European clear position in support of Yemen’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He underscored the importance of the European Union’s role in strengthening the balance of power in favor of peace, stability and development in the region, and in defending the international order based on respect for state sovereignty. He also stressed the need to deter violent groups by all available means, including their designation as terrorist organizations.

The PLC President reviewed the measures taken to confront the escalation by the Houthi terrorist militias, including the state’s firm deterrence of the militias’ daily ceasefire violations across all frontlines. He also outlined government initiatives to resume operations at Sana’a International Airport in a lawful and secure manner that safeguards citizens’ interests, Yemen’s sovereignty, and compliance with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

In this context, he said the government had responded to the escalation with the highest degree of responsibility by deterring the threat while immediately welcoming the Jordanian initiative. He said the initiative provided a humanitarian and legal solution to ensure citizens could travel through arrangements that respect Yemen’s sovereignty and eliminate the militias’ pretexts.

President Al-Alimi stressed that the government has never been the cause of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. Rather, he said, the crisis resulted from the Houthi militias’ coup against the national consensus, their continued forcible control over densely populated parts of the country, and their obstruction of all initiatives aimed at alleviating human suffering. He cited the militias’ rejection of proposals to resume flights through Sana’a Airport and pay public sector salaries, before later targeting oil facilities, destroying the assets of Yemenia Airways, seizing its funds, and using civilians as hostages to secure illegitimate gains.

The PLC President also highlighted the Houthi militias’ grave abuses against the Yemeni people. He warned that the continuation of the current status quo would only deepen poverty, displacement and human rights violations, further fragment the national economy, and continue to threaten freedom of navigation and global energy supplies.

He emphasized the importance of the European Parliament’s role in exerting maximum pressure on the Houthi militias to release detained UN and humanitarian personnel, and to ensure that those responsible for human rights violations are held accountable.

President Al-Alimi renewed the government’s commitment to a peace process that addresses the root causes of the war, rather than one that gives the coup a new opportunity to reproduce itself. He stressed that any future agreements must serve as a step toward ending the suffering and restoring state institutions, not as a substitute for them. He added: it must be based on respect for the sovereignty of the Republic of Yemen, the security of neighboring countries and international waterways, and the state’s exclusive monopoly over the legitimate use of force in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

“The peace we seek must ensure a complete break with the past and criminalize racism, sectarianism and violence,” the President said. “It must protect rights and freedoms, guarantee equal citizenship, ensure the peaceful transfer of power, uphold the state’s exclusive right to bear arms, and respect the Constitution and the rule of law.” He warned that any peace settlement failing to address these root causes would remain only a temporary truce.

The PLC President noted that a stable Yemen would help secure international shipping lanes, protect global supply chains, combat terrorism and organized crime, reduce irregular migration, and uphold the international legal order based on respect for state sovereignty.

He also reviewed progress in rebuilding state institutions, advancing economic, financial and administrative reforms, and expanding the participation of Yemenis in decision-making, particularly women and young people.

President Al-Alimi expressed his aspiration for continued European political support for the Yemeni government and its national institutions, as well as sustained backing for economic and development reforms in the liberated areas. He considered that European investment in the Yemeni state is not support for a political party, but rather an investment in security, stability, justice and the principles of international law.

“The cost of supporting the Yemeni state today is far less than the cost of containing the destruction that would result tomorrow if the terrorist militias continue to control the southern coast of the Red Sea,” he added.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Yahya Al-Shuaibi, Director of the Office of the Presidency.