AL-MOUKALLA: Yemeni government negotiators say they will boycott any further talks with the Houthis on UN-brokered prisoner swaps until the militia discloses the whereabouts of jailed politician Mohammed Qahtan and allows his family and government officials to visit him.

In a message published on Twitter, Hadi Haig, head of the government delegation responsible for the talks, wrote: “Our position is clear: we will not take part in the negotiations until this visit takes place.” We hope that the UN envoy’s office will put pressure on this will exercise to advance the dossier.”

Qahtan, a prominent Yemeni politician, was kidnapped eight years ago by the Houthis, who ignored repeated calls for his release from the UN Security Council, local and international human rights groups and the politician’s family.

The Houthis’ refusal to allow visits to the politician’s relatives or reveal his whereabouts has sparked fears that he may have died in custody.

In a first round of prisoner exchange talks in March, the Yemeni government and the Houthis agreed to exchange more than 900 prisoners and give each other access to prisons in Marib and Sana’a. After these visits, the two sides were scheduled to meet for a second round of negotiations in hopes of negotiating the release of more prisoners.

However, members of a government delegation scheduled to visit Houthi prisons said they were denied visits by Qahtan. They then canceled their visit and suspended their participation in talks with the militia.

Meanwhile, the Houthis said the government’s “requirements” delayed their own delegation’s visit to a government-run prison in Marib.

The government delegation’s suspension of talks with the Houthis comes as Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy to Yemen, continues to travel between regional capitals to engage in talks with those involved in the conflict. The aim is to extend the ceasefire negotiated by the United Nations and ultimately to conclude a peace agreement.

Mr Grundberg’s office said he arrived in Muscat on Monday, where he met with Omani officials and chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdelsalam to “explore ways to further ongoing peace efforts”.

The envoy previously traveled to Riyadh where, for the same purpose, he met the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, as well as the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (US, UK, France, Russia and China), Rachad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Presidential Council and other senior Yemeni officials.

In an interview with the China Global Television Network last week, Mr Grundberg stressed that a permanent ceasefire in Yemen is “possible in the near future” but that it will require major efforts and concessions from the warring factions, as well as international support.

“I think it’s possible, but I can’t say it will be easy,” he adds. “It always takes compromises on the part of the parties to reach that level of unity.”

“Discussions are ongoing at various levels to support UN mediation efforts.”

This text is a translation of an article published on Arabnews.com