Yemen FM Says No Delay In Presidential Election

Published January 18, 2012 7:09PM (EST)

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's foreign minister says a presidential election will be held as scheduled.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said his government was committed to hold presidential elections on February 21.

Yemen has been in turmoil for a year over demands that longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh resign.

In an interview a day earlier, on Al-Arabiya television, al-Qirbi, a veteran of Saleh's regime, said it was difficult to have presidential elections if the security situation is not resolved.

His clarification came after a meeting with foreign diplomats who were in Yemen to discuss the crisis.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. regretted that Saleh has not complied with agreements to leave the country and allow an election for a successor.


By Salon Staff

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