The UK ambassador to Yemen, Richard Oppenheim, acknowledged that he has direct communication channels with the Houthis and confirmed that he had dined with the group’s spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, in Muscat three months ago, as did his predecessor Michael Aron.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Oppenheim affirmed that the problem with Houthis is in their destructive behavior, not in them being a Yemeni group or participating in government. He reiterated the UK’s condemnation of their recent attacks on oil ports, describing them as “terrorist attacks.”
