GCC steps into Yemeni crisis

SANAA, Yemen, April 6 (UPI) -- The Yemeni government welcomed the intervention of the Gulf Cooperation Council to end a political stalemate, the administration in Sanaa said Wednesday.

Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is clinging to power despite weeks of opposition pressure to step down after more than 30 years in office.

Protests and skirmishes with government forces are ongoing. Saleh has offered his opponents a series of sweeping concessions, though the Yemeni opposition remains defiant.

Saleh and Yemeni Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi met with Saudi, Omani and Qatari envoys to discuss GCC intervention in the crisis, the official Saba news agency reports.

Gulf diplomats told Saleh that GCC delegates were inviting his backers and members of the opposition to Riyadh to discuss a solution to the political crisis.

"The aim of Riyadh talks is to find solutions assisting Yemen to overcome its current crisis and maintain its security, stability and unity," the official news agency said.

Washington and members of the international community continue to condemn Yemen's reaction to the unrest.

The British government, meanwhile, warned against travel to Yemen and urged British nationals there to leave the country.

"As we have said before, the government of Yemen should act urgently to respond to the legitimate demands of the Yemeni people for political change and move toward implementing much needed reform," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague in a statement.