Iran says ready to resume talks with Saudi Arabia to solve differences

Tehran, April 5 (IANS) Iran is ready to resume talks with Saudi Arabia to solve differences, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman announced.

'We are ready for the continuation of talks and for the settlement of differences. We have submitted our views in written form to the Saudi side, and they should express their views,' Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday in his weekly press briefing.

Repeating Iran's welcome of a ceasefire in Yemen, he said this 'should be completed with the beginning of intra-Yemeni dialogue and we should wait for the results.'

Following the UN-backed two-month truce in Yemen, Khatibzadeh on Saturday expressed hope that the peace initiative can be a prelude to completely lifting the siege on the Yemeni people and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire to find a political solution to the crisis, Xinhua news agency reported.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

According to the UN, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.

--IANS

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