By Samia Nakhoul and Marwa Rashad
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – The vice president of Yemen’s U.N.-recognised government on Tuesday welcomed Donald Trump’s return as U.S. president, saying it was a decisive turning point to curb the Iran-backed Houthis, who he said threaten regional stability and maritime security.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi told Reuters that Trump’s strong leadership and willingness to employ military strength were in sharp contrast to the Biden administration, which he said had allowed the Houthis to consolidate power, bolster their military capabilities and extend their reach beyond Yemen.
“Trump knows what he wants. He is a strong decision-maker,” Zubaidi said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
“We are fans, admirers and supporters of Trump’s policy …. because he has a personality that has enough decision-making power to rule America and the world,” he said, adding that he expected talks with the incoming administration to begin soon.
While the Houthis control the northwest of Yemen, where most of its 23 million people live, the rest is held by the Southern Transitional Council which wants an independent southern Yemen and is backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Zubaidi heads the armed group, which holds three seats on the eight-strong Presidential Leadership Council, the Aden-based coalition government opposed to the Houthis.
He said the unification of Yemen remains elusive, and called for two states as was the case before 1990, when South Yemen was separate from North Yemen.
“When we become two countries the conflict will be resolved,” he said, adding that a coordinated U.S.-led international, regional and local strategy was needed to strike and weaken the Houthis and stop their attacks against commercial Western vessels navigating through the Red Sea.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 vessels with drones and missile strikes last year in what they said was solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Before Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Yemen’s Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said they will limit Red Sea attacks to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire began in Gaza, but strikes could resume if the situation changes.
“We hope that America will be motivated to deter the Houthis because they will continue to threaten maritime navigation. They are the biggest threat. The Houthis are part of an international consortium led by Iran, Russia and China,” Zubaidi said.
The war in Yemen, one of the most impoverished countries in the Middle East, began in 2014, when Houthi fighters swept into the capital, Sanaa, and took over government institutions.
A United Nations peace process to end the war, which triggered a dire humanitarian crisis, stalled after the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza.
The conflict in Yemen has left the Houthis entrenched in the north of the country, where they set up a mini-state that they rule with support from Tehran.
“This war has cost us a lot. It led to the collapse of the entire economy and sharp devaluation of the currency, an employee earns now $50-$60 (a month) … Yemen’s reconstruction will need hundreds of billions of dollars,” he said.
(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul and Marwa Rashad; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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