Yemen’s government officials started talks with the country’s southern separatists in Jeddah on Wednesday Saudi Arabia called for talks to restore calm to southern Yemen after fighting between STC and government troops last month LONDON: UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths expressed his support for negotiations between the Yemeni government and southern separatists that started in Jeddah on Wednesday. Officials from Saudi Arabia and the UAE met separately on Thursday to agree on a draft agreement before presenting it to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the Southern Transitional Council. Meanwhile on Thursday, Saudi Arabia said it was following the latest developments in Aden and regretted fresh outbreaks of violence there, and that any attempt to destabilize Yemen was a threat to the Kingdom and the wider region, according to reports from Saudi Press Agency. The report said Saudi Arabia rejected any military escalation or secondary conflicts in Yemen that benefited the Houthis and Daesh. Yemen’s government officials started talks with the country’s southern separatists of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Jeddah on Wednesday in a bid to end fighting in Aden and other southern provinces, a Yemeni official said. The delegation, which landed in the Kingdom on Tuesday, is headed by Aidroos Al-Zubaidi, the council’s leader. Its arrival comes after Saudi Arabia called for talks in the Kingdom to restore calm to southern Yemen after fighting between the STC and government troops last month. Emirati minister of state of foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said on Wednesday that he was was confident that the Jeddah meeting will succeed in uniting the two sides against what he called the “Houthi coup.” He also thanked Saudi Arabia for “leading the coalition politically and militarily with care and skill.”