peace talks

This is not a column defending Donald Trump.
Across my career, I have said more positive words about the scolex family of intestinal tapeworms than I have said about Donald Trump. (Scolex have been shown to read more.)
No, this is a column about context. When The New York Times reports anonymous sources from the intelligence community say Russia paid Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers, context is very important.

SANA’A, YEMEN — A second round of negotiations between the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s Houthi movement could be hosted soon in the Jordanian capital of Amman, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee said on Sunday after meeting the UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

SANA’A, YEMEN — (Report) Last week’s peace talks in Sweden between the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s Houthis was cause for celebration for many the world-over who hoped to finally see an end to Yemen’s bloody war. But many of Yemen’s people hedging their bets and have expressed frustration over the results of the week-long talks in Rimbo, talks that leaders on both sides of the conflict viewed as a victory.

HODEIDA, YEMEN — Hope was quickly dashed for the residents of Yemen’s Hodeida after a week of peace talks in Sweden initially gave rise to a ceasefire between Houthi forces and the Saudi-led coalition.  But instead of peace, the sounds of fierce clashes and coalition fighter jets re-echo throughout the province.

RIMBO, SWEDEN — Following three years of one of the bloodiest battles of the 21st century, the Saudi assault on Yemen’s key port city of Hodeida may be nearing its end. The Saudi-led coalition and Ansar Allah, the political wing of the Houthi resistance movement, have agreed to a ceasefire in Hodeida and in the Taiz Province of northwestern Yemen, the scene of some of the most intense battles in the war, to facilitate the delivery of aid.

RIMBO, SWEDEN — Among the issues under discussion in Yemen peace negotiations currently underway in Sweden — the first such talks between the Saudi-led Coalition and Ansar Allah in two years — are potential humanitarian corridors, a prisoner swap, the reopening of the defunct Sana’a International Airport, and the fate of the crucial port city of Hodeida.

SANA’A, YEMEN — Despite hope that coming talks expected to take place on December 5 near Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, will bring an end to the more than three years of war that have ravaged Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition continues to escalate its military offensives across the country.

SANA’A, YEMEN — Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah) submitted an initiative Monday they hope will help bring peace to Yemen. The group has also unilaterally suspended ballistic missile and drone attacks against Saudi-led coalition forces as a goodwill measure to “speed up” the peace process.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Peace in Yemen could not come at a more crucial time. Yemeni factions are preparing for peace talks in Sweden at the end of November while Saudi Arabia faces intense scrutiny and pressure from its Western allies, as well as possible action from the United Nations Security Council, for leaving nearly 22 million Yemenis requiring urgent humanitarian aid at the mercy of the famine and disease that the Saudi-led coalition has leveraged as weapons of war.

SANAA,YEMEN– “Before the war started, my family used to drink traditional Yemeni coffee on the rooftop of our home next to the University of Hodeida. During those long winter days years ago, my friend and I would go to the beach to play while the adults sat around and conversed, chewing gat leaves. When the U.S. recently called for a ceasefire, I asked myself: why should we have to wait another year to return home safely?”