Jordan to Host New Meeting between Rival Yemeni Parties on Prisoner Swap

Jordan will host next week a new meeting for representatives of the legitimate Yemeni government and Iran-backed Houthi militias in order to discuss a prisoner swap between them.

The office of United Nations special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths had sent a request to Amman to host the meeting, which would be the second since the warring parties agreed to the prisoner exchange in December.

The swap is part of the UN-sponsored agreement reached between the two sides during consultations held in Sweden in December.

A Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed Saturday that the Kingdom will host the new round of prisoner swap talks next week.

Despite obstacles, namely from the Houthis, the UN has been seeking to approve a common groundwork between the government and militias in order to make the exchange possible.

Discussions have focused on lists of prisoners provided by each side and comments and reservations they have on them.

The two sides had first met to discuss this issue in January.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-led Arab coalition announced its success in securing the release of a Saudi prisoner of war, who was detained by the Houthis in Yemen.

The alliance credited the success of the release to joint efforts by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition and Griffiths