Sincere talks can resolve conflict in Yemen: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Naseer al-Omari, a writer and political commentator from New York, to get his take on the relentless Saudi airstrikes and aggression against the Yemeni people.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How big of a game changer are these retaliatory attacks and could these gains possibly prompt the Saudis to rethink their aggression against the Yemeni people?

Al-Omari: This development is extremely serious. Saudi Arabia has gone through serious problems internally and [having] Yemeni forces across the border and attacks so aggressively and so accurately… [that] threaten the security of Saudi Arabia has added to the very critical situation within the country. We have seen a shooting inside Saudi Arabia. We have seen bombings and suicide attacks. So the situation inside Saudi Arabia is very very critical. And to have Yemenis across [the border] shows that they are able to inflict damage on Saudi Arabia within its own border, [it] is definitely not something that the Saudis planned for when they thought that the venture into Yemen was going to be a short war, [they would] install (former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur) Hadi and return in few weeks. This is a real war with real damage to the Saudis.

Press TV: Major advances indeed, but at the expense of 7,000 Yemeni lives, and we’ve been seeing a significant amount of international silence as Saudi Arabia continues to kill civilians daily inside Yemen. What do you think is going to take for the Saudis to come to the table to diplomatically end this oppression against the Yemeni people?

Al-Omari: I’m afraid the Saudi regime is not responsive and is not studying what’s happening on the ground in Yemen carefully. This war was wrong from day one. This war is not going anywhere. This war has caused Yemenis a lot of pain and it’s likely to inflict long term damage on Yemen, the Yemeni people. We have half a million children now, who are reported to suffer from malnutrition. Even if the war stops tomorrow, this country needs to be put back together and it will need billions of dollars to put it in shape again. This war is wrong and I believe the best thing that can happen is to stop it immediately and to approach the negotiations, which are scheduled by the end of this month, with sincerity and with the intention of helping the Yemenis build their country and restore their government.

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