Global General

Yemen government willing to talk to separatists

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-09 16:15
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SANAA - The Yemeni government is willing to hold talks with separatists, local media reported on Tuesday.

"We say to them: Come talk with your brothers in the authority, and we will talk with you," President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in an address at a military academy.

"We welcome any political demands. Come to dialogue," he said.

The Sanaa government is stepping up efforts to solve discontent among southern separatist groups and implement economic reforms after it ended a six-year fighting with northern Shiite rebels.

The Yemeni government and Shiite rebels reached an agreement on February 11 to end their months-long conflict after the rebels accepted the government's six conditions.