Dubai: An aide to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday denied press reports of a new peace offer, and stressed that the president has not offered anything new to the Opposition.
However, Ahmad Al Sufi, the president's spokesperson, told Gulf News that there are ongoing talks to reach a "national settlement," and an announcement could be made as early as today.
Al Sufi described the reports of a new offer as "more of mere illusions and imaginations" from the opposition, rather than fact.
"The president has not offered anything new at all," Al Sufi said. "The president has not presented any initiative and this is a decision he has taken," he added in reference to Saleh's recent announcement that he is not going to make any new concessions to the Opposition.
Earlier yesterday, Reuters quoted an Opposition source as saying Saleh has proposed to stay in his post until elections are held and transfer his powers to a caretaker government.
The report added that the offer was presented at a meeting on Tuesday night with Mohammad Al Yadoumi, head of the Islamist Islah party.
The meeting was considered the first of its kind with Islah, which was a partner in the Yemeni government before splitting away and joining the opposition.
"The opposition could pick a head of government of its own choosing and there would be parliamentary elections by the end of the year," an opposition source said of Saleh's offer. He said the opposition was still considering its response.
While Al Sufi confirmed that the meeting took place on Tuesday night, he stressed that Al Yadoumi was presenting the opposition political parties' views and not the government's view.
"The meeting took place, and the discussions were profound. It took a very long time," Al Sufi said without giving details.
National settlement
However, the Yemeni official said there are efforts to reach "a national settlement. It will dot the ‘i's and cross the ‘t's in a responsible manner."
"The talks are still going on, and the discussions are insightful one. The [Yemeni] people are the hero in this process," Al Sufi said without elaborating.
Asked whether to expect any announcement later yesterday, Al Sufi replied "in Yemen, everything is expected starting from Thursday [today]."
Meanwhile, public pressure continued yesterday on Saleh to step down.
Massive protests in Sana'a and some other Yemeni cities, like Sa'ada and Marib also denounced Monday's explosion at an ammunition factory in southern Yemen, which killed 150 people, and injured scores.
While the government blamed Al Qaida for the explosion, the opposition accused Saleh of being behind the blast to create chaos in the country and cling to power.
Opposition said they were more capable of handling the militants issue better than Saleh, adding that Saleh was not serious in confronting them.
Shaikh Hamid Al Ahmar, a key tribal figure who belongs to the Islah party, was quoted by Reuters as saying "I think Yemenis would be capable to free Yemen of terror within months."
Replacement
United States and European countries should call directly for Saleh's departure, Al Ahmar said adding that Washington has already said that Saleh's departure or his replacement with a weaker president constitute "a real problem" for its efforts in fighting terrorism.
"They should do what they did in Egypt. We don't need what is going on in Libya.
"We don't need that much support. But support like what was done in Egypt would be enough to finish things," Al Ahmar said.
