STC President in Yemen: There is no peace without South

The South Yemen's Southern Transitional Council renewed its commitment to the struggle for the restoration of the southern state with all its borders that existed until 1990, and stressed that this goal should not be abandoned.

This came in an interview with STC president, Major General Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Forces, on Thursday evening, in a recorded interview broadcast on Sky News Arabia.

"We in the transitional council endured (the mission) to fully restore the southern state, and we will not give up on that," Al-Zubeidi said, "We will restore our state completely as it was in 1990."

Al-Zubaidi, a prominent figure enjoying wide popularity in South Yemen, denied that the STC had been involved in the negotiations of "joint declaration" whose efforts were led by the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

"We demanded that Griffiths have a negotiating team representing South ... and up to this point we have not discussed (the joint declaration) with him," Al-Zubaidi said in the interview.

On Thursday noon, Martin Griffiths arrived in Aden, the capital of South Yemen, and made a tour of Aden International Airport, during which he examined the effects of the "horrific attack" that targeted the airport last week, which resulted in dozens of dead and wounded.

On Thursday, Griffiths held meetings in Aden with the Prime Minister of the parity Government, Dr. Maeen Abdul-Malik, the Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak, members of the government, and the Governor of Aden, Ahmed Lamlas.

In the context of the United Nations-led negotiations to end the crisis in Yemen, Al-Zubaidi noted that "unless we participate in the final solution, we will represent South in all the ways available to us ... and we own the land."

Al-Zubaidi considered, "a two-state solution is the possible solution for regional stability."

"After the Houthi attack on Aden airport, there is no justification for the international community to prevent the coalition from supporting us militarily," the Presdint of the Southern Transitional Council said.

Regarding the step to form a parity government between North and South in Yemen, Al-Zubaidi said: "the stage required that there be political balances and the formation of a parity government ... after the marginalization of the  South's people since the '94 war.

"A parity government has been formed between the Transitional Council and the legitimacy of President Hadi," he noted that. "It included all the political forces in South and North".

Al-Zubaidi warned of the danger of terrorist organizations in Yemen, referring to the role of the Southern Council in fighting it and stressing that the stability of Aden and South is a priority.