This came in separate statements, monitored by Anadolu, issued by the foreign ministries of Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt and the Arab League, following rapid and unprecedented developments since dawn on Tuesday between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi regarding Yemen.
In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, Qatar praised the statements issued by Saudi Arabia and the UAE regarding developments in Yemen.
She noted that the statements of both parties "reflect a keenness to prioritize the interests of the region, promote the principles of good neighborliness, and rely on the foundations and principles upon which the Charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is based."
She indicated that the security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is "an integral part of Qatar's security," affirming her "full support for the legitimate Yemeni government." She emphasized "the importance of preserving Yemen's unity and territorial integrity, and safeguarding the interests of the brotherly Yemeni people."
Kuwait announced on Tuesday that the security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states is a "fundamental pillar" of its national security, and praised the "responsible approach" of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and their commitment to the stability of the region and the promotion of good neighborliness.
The ministry said: "Kuwait affirms its close monitoring of developments and events taking place in Yemen, expressing its unwavering support for the legitimate Yemeni government."
According to the statement, Kuwait reiterated "that the security of Saudi Arabia and the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries constitute a fundamental pillar of its national security, based on the bonds of brotherhood and shared destiny that unite the GCC countries."
The Sultanate of Oman, in a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, said that it "is following developments related to the Republic of Yemen, and affirms its continued position calling for restraint and prioritizing the voice of wisdom, by addressing all issues in the best possible way through dialogue and achieving the desired fraternal consensus and understanding in a manner that serves the security and interest of Yemen and the national security of neighboring countries."
She also expressed her support for positions calling for de-escalation, containment, and addressing the root causes of the crisis, while emphasizing the importance of respecting the sovereignty, security, stability, and will of the Republic of Yemen, and the necessity of reaching consensual political solutions that contribute to achieving peace and harmony for all.
For its part, Bahrain, in a statement issued by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed its “deep appreciation, as the chair of the current session of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and its appreciation for the pivotal role played by both the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the sisterly United Arab Emirates in supporting the security and stability of the sisterly Republic of Yemen.”
She affirmed her "confidence in the wisdom of the Saudi and Emirati leaderships and their ability to contain any differences in viewpoints within the framework of the unified Gulf home."
She stressed the need for containing these differences to be consistent with the "principles of the Gulf Cooperation Council based on solidarity, understanding and unity, and to serve the common aspirations to consolidate security, stability, peace and prosperity for the benefit of the countries of the region and their brotherly peoples."
Egypt said in a statement from the Foreign Ministry that it is "following with great interest the latest developments on the Yemeni scene, through intensive contacts at the highest levels and around the clock with all concerned parties."
She expressed "her complete confidence in the keenness of our brothers in both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to deal wisely with the current developments in Yemen."
She expressed her "deep appreciation for the wisdom of the Saudi and Emirati leaderships in constructively dealing with developments in Yemen, and their keenness to achieve stability in Yemen and preserve its sovereignty and the interests of its brotherly people," according to the statement.
She stressed that she "will spare no effort in continuing her ongoing contacts with our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with the Yemeni side, and with other relevant regional and international parties to work towards reducing escalation."
In a related context, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on Tuesday, appealed to the member states of the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen to maintain Arab solidarity, exercise restraint, and adhere to the unified Arab position supporting Yemeni legitimacy.
In a statement, Aboul Gheit expressed "grave concern about the dangerous and successive developments in the Republic of Yemen following the Southern Transitional Council's failure to respond to the demands of the Presidential Leadership Council" to withdraw its forces from the Hadramawt and Al-Mahra governorates in the east of the country.
Aboul Gheit also expressed "hope for an immediate cessation of the escalation in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra".
There is widespread Yemeni, regional and international rejection of the Transitional Council’s calls for the secession of southern Yemen from the north, and its refusal to withdraw from the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra.
Al-Alimi: Yemen is at a crossroads
On Tuesday evening, the Vice President of the Council, Ahmed Saeed bin Brik, said in a statement that "the declaration of the State of South Arabia is closer than ever."
Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, warned on Tuesday that Yemen stands at a crossroads: "Either one state with one decision, or open chaos that will not stop at our borders."
This came during a meeting with the ambassadors of the countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen, where he stressed that the demand for the departure of forces that have deviated from the fundamentals of the coalition supporting legitimacy is "a natural sovereign demand that does not target relations, does not deny history, but rather protects the very idea of the coalition."
According to the official news agency Saba, the meeting focused on the latest developments in the local situation, particularly in the eastern governorates, which necessitated taking a number of constitutional and legal decisions and measures in order to protect the security of citizens and preserve the unity and sovereignty of Yemen.
Al-Alimi reiterated that the recent developments were not an internal political dispute, but rather a threat to the unity of military and security decision-making, an undermining of the legal status of the state, and a reproduction of the logic of parallel authorities, which the international community rejects in all its statements and resolutions.
The Transitional Council says that successive governments have marginalized the southern regions politically and economically, and demands their secession, which is denied by the Yemeni authorities, who affirm their commitment to the unity of the country.
On May 22, 1990, the Yemen Arab Republic (North) united with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South) to form the Republic of Yemen.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprises six countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. It was established on May 25, 1981, and its headquarters are in Riyadh.
On Tuesday morning, the Saudi-led Arab coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen announced that it had bombed weapons and combat vehicles after they arrived from the Emirati port of Fujairah on two ships to the port of Mukalla, which is under the control of the Southern Transitional Council.
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that its national security is a "red line" and that "the UAE pushed the Southern Transitional Council forces to carry out military operations" on the kingdom's southern border in the Hadramawt and Al-Mahra governorates in eastern Yemen.
However, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied, in a statement, what it called “allegations” regarding its directing a Yemeni party to carry out military operations that affect Saudi Arabia’s security,” stressing its concern for the Kingdom’s security.
Later, the UAE Ministry of Defense announced the termination of the missions of "the remaining counter-terrorism teams in Yemen," and that it ended its military presence in 2019, within the coalition supporting legitimacy.
This came after the head of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen, Rashad Al-Alimi, announced earlier on Tuesday the cancellation of the joint defense agreement with the UAE, as part of a decision stipulating the withdrawal of all its forces from the country within 24 hours.
Since early December, the Southern Transitional Council forces have controlled Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, which together make up about half of Yemen’s area (about 555,000 square kilometers), and have rejected local
