The legitimate Yemeni government rejected on Monday any United Nations peace efforts that would not be based on the three references. Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani made this stance during a meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with UN special envoy Martin Griffiths, revealed official sources. The references are the national dialogue outcomes, the Gulf initiative and the UN Security Council resolution 2216. Yemen’s Saba news agency reported that Ahmar held talks with Griffiths on the latest progress in peace efforts. He expressed his gratitude for his efforts to achieve permanent peace in Yemen, reiterating the government’s commitment to the three references. He revealed that the meeting was held at the recommendation of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Griffiths has been exerting efforts to bring together all warring parties in Yemen to the negotiations table. Peace consultations are scheduled for Sweden in early December. The last round of consultations was held in Geneva in September. They failed after the Iran-backed Houthi militias did not attend after they made last-minute conditions. Ahmar accused the Houthis of maintaining their unyielding stance in regards to peace, saying they are continuing their escalation on the ground by targeting civilians and Saudi territories, launching ballistic missiles and drones and planting mines. He underlined the legitimate forces’ push for permanent peace in Yemen that will help restore the authority of the state and end the Houthi coup. Griffiths, for his part, briefed Ahmar on the details of his talks last week with the Houthis, revealed the sources. Griffiths had concluded on Saturday a visit to Sanaa and Hodeidah where he held talks with militia leaderships as part of his efforts to hold the Sweden consultations. His ceasefire proposal on Hodeidah was meanwhile, widely criticized by the legitimacy and Yemen activists. They interpreted it as a UN attempt to save the Houthis after the legitimate forces made significant advances on Hodeidah and were on the verge of liberating it from the militias’ clutches. Meanwhile, and as part of his ongoing peace efforts, two partisan sources revealed that Griffiths was seeking to arrange a meeting in Amman on Thursday between a number of Yemeni parties in order to brief them on his peace plan to resume consultations in Sweden. The General People’s Congress of former slain President Ali Abdullah Saleh was invited to attend the talks in the Jordanian capital, said the sources. They predicted that Griffiths’ talks will focus on trust-building efforts between the legitimate forces and Houthis. He will also tackle the prisoner file, Sanaa airport, the Central Bank and employee salaries. Information ministry undersecretary Abdul Baset al-Qaedi told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Any solution that does not restore Hodeidah port under the legitimacy’s authority will be considered a violation of the three references.” “The UN envoy must realize that temporary solutions will not achieve real peace,” he stressed. He must base his efforts on the three references, starting with resolution 2216.