The Yemeni government, UAE and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) praised on Saturday the Saudi efforts in achieving the “Riyadh Agreement,” expected to be signed in the coming hours. In the past weeks, the Kingdom sponsored indirect talks in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah between Yemeni government and the STC to solve the differences between the two sides amid guarantees on the implementation of the agreement under the monitoring of a joint committee led by Riyadh. The agreement should also end a crisis that started last August when STC seized control of Aden and neighboring provinces following days of fighting with the government forces. “The tireless and good efforts conducted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is historic,” Dr. Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said in a tweet on Saturday. He added that, “It is important to focus on confronting the Houthi coup and its aggression. Through this agreement, Yemen is coming to a new stage.” For his part, Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Iryani tweeted on Saturday that the agreement had been “initialed” and would be officially signed within two days. "Its expected to address the event positively away from political rivalries as a pivotal and important step to unite ranks and direct all efforts in the battle of salvation from the Iranian-backed Houthi militia," Iryani wrote on his Twitter account. The Yemeni minister praised the role of Saudi Arabia for sponsoring the indirect talks and for encouraging both the Yemeni government and the STC to reach this deal. "We are still betting on the fraternal Saudi role in supporting Yemen to overcome this ordeal and overthrowing the Houthi coup as well as building a prosperous Yemen," he said. Also, STC spokesman Nizar Haitham said that the Council was capable, through this deal, to establish a new and advanced phase, including an official partnership at the political, military, economic, security and development level with the Saudi-led Arab Coalition. He also called the deal a strategic step towards independence.