ABSTRACT
In Syria and Yemen, the international community is beginning to recognise what has long been obvious to most observers: Assad and the Houthis are not going to be militarily defeated by the current configuration of forces opposing them and are unwilling to give away at the bargaining table what they have won on the battlefield. In Yemen, following a Chinese-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries, a Saudi delegation flew to Sanaa to begin negotiations on a Saudi withdrawal and an end to the war. Notably, representatives of the Presidential Leadership Council, Yemen’s broad though fractious domestic anti-Houthi coalition, did not participate in the talks. Ethnic and sectarian tensions remain significant drivers of regional conflicts and instability. In Iraq, sectarian issues continue to exacerbate insecurity within the country.
