Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has today signed an agreement to transfer power to his vice president.
Mr Saleh was shown on Arabic satellite television stations signing a proposal by his powerful Gulf Arab neighbours to end his country’s nine-month old uprising.
A smiling Mr Saleh sat next to Saudi King Abdullah in the Saudi capital Riyadh as he signed four copies of the proposal. He then clapped briefly.
The plan calls for a power transfer to Mr Saleh’s vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, within 30 days and early presidential elections within 90 days of the signing. It also calls for a two-year transition period. The deal gives Mr Saleh immunity from prosecution.
Mr Saleh told UN chief Ban Ki-moon he will come to the United States for medical treatment. "He told me that he will come to New York to take medical treatment immediately after signing this agreement," Mr Ban said. "If he [Saleh] comes to New York, I'll be happy to meet him," the UN chief said.
Us President Barack Obama welcomed the move this evening.
"This represents an important step forward for the Yemeni people, who deserve the opportunity to determine their own future," he said in a statement.
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Saleh's signing of the deal should open the way to national reconciliation and a transition to democracy.
"The agreement is only the beginning, but it is a very important beginning. It allows the Yemeni people the much needed hope that their country can turn a page in its history and embrace a new future," she said.
This is the fourth attempt to wrap up a power transfer deal that Mr Saleh has backed out of on three previous occasions at the last minute.
Mr Saleh was previously forced to seek treatment in Saudi Arabia for injuries suffered in an apparent assassination attempt in June after the last time he ducked out of the deal, which ushered in street battles that devastated parts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
Under the Gulf Cooperation Council deal, which UN envoy Jamal Benomar helped to negotiate, Mr Saleh is to shift all powers to his deputy, Mr Hadi, who would form a new government with the opposition and call an early presidential election within three months.
Mr Saleh would keep his title until a successor is elected.
Mr Ban said the Yemeni leader had asked him that the United Nations should provide "necessary support" after the signing of the deal. "I told him that the United Nations will spare no efforts and . . . I will do my best to mobilise the necessary resources and support so that peace and stability and democratic order will be restored in Yemen," the UN chief said. "He told me clearly that he will hand over all powers," he added.
Mr Ban said he hoped the United Nations would be able to "be present and continue to monitor and help the full implementation of this agreement."
Mr Benomar is due to report back to the UN Security Council next Monday on his mission to Yemen.
Agencies