Yemen: STC head to visit Russia
The tour comes amid tensions with President Hadi over recent appointments
Cairo: Head of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) Aidarus Al Zoubaidi is expected today to visit Russia at the start of a tour that will take him to some European countries, according to media reports.
Al Zoubaidi will lead a number of STC officials on the trip that will take several days, Yemeni news portal Adan Al Ghad said.
He is expected to discuss the implementation of a power-sharing pact mediated by Saudi Arabia and signed by the STC and the Yemeni government in 2019.
The trip comes amid STC accusations against Yemeni President President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi of attempting to obstruct the pact, officially dubbed the Riyadh Agreement, by decreeing appointments that the council described as one-sided.
Earlier this month, Hadi appointed officials in senior state posts including a prosecutor-general head of the advisory Shura Council.
The appointments have drawn protests from the STC that is a partner to a recently formed government.
Last month, a new Yemeni government was formed as part of the Riyadh Agreement, which ended a months-long feud between both Hadi’s authority and the STC to refocus efforts on fighting Al Houthi rebels.