Sanaa, May 04: The Yemeni president has called on the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council chief to delay his visit to Yemen in an attempt to hinder mediation efforts to end the country’s political crisis.
In a Monday letter, Ali Abdullah Saleh asked [P]GCC Secretary General Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani to delay his visit to Yemen, AP quoted two senior officials as saying on Tuesday.
Al Zayani was expected to meet with Saleh on Monday to find a solution to Yemen’s current stalemate.
The visit was postponed “to an indefinite date,” one of the officials said.
Earlier, President Saleh refrained from signing the [P]GCC proposed deal that would have granted him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his stepping down and handing power over to his vice president.
Analysts say Saleh’s refusal to sign the agreement shows that he is stalling for time to change the wording on the deal that would allow him to sign it as the head of his ruling party and not as president.
The United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed the crisis in Yemen with the chief of the [P]GCC in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi earlier on Tuesday.
Popular anti-government protests in Yemen have been met by riot police or Saleh’s supporters, who are armed with knives and batons.
The death toll in the country has surpassed 300 since the anti-government protests began in late January.
——–Agencies