Riyadh Denies Houthis Sought $51bn to End Hostilities

Riyadh (TDI): Saudi Arabia has categorically denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming that Yemen’s Houthi movement demanded $51 billion from the kingdom in exchange for a negotiated halt to hostilities.

The report, published on Thursday and citing unnamed sources, said Riyadh had approached the Houthis to explore terms for ending the fighting. It said that the group had demanded $51 billion and sought official recognition as Yemen’s ruling authority.

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly rejected the claims, describing them as “pure fabrication” by the report’s authors or their alleged sources.

In a post on X, Krimly said the allegations concerning the militia’s demands were entirely unfounded. The Saudi official also accused the Houthis of undermining Yemen’s internationally recognized government, contributing to the country’s humanitarian crisis and drawing it into conflicts that, he said, did not serve the interests of its people.