The U.S. may build a naval base in Yemen to face Al-Qaeda, but for the time being, there is still a chance to tackle the terrorist threat before building the base, after Yemen realized early the threat, the U.S. ambassador said on Monday.
At a press conference held at the headquarters of the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate, the newly-appointed envoy to the country Gerald Feierstein said the U.S. is committed to providing Yemen with financial and technical assistance and necessary equipment to face Al-Qaeda threat and secure its borders.
The U.S. people and administration are deeply concerned over the situation in Yemen because of the threat from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula AQAP and political and economic instability, he said.
The U.S. rejects any dialog with senior Al-Qaeda leaders, however, there is no problem to talk with the newly-recruited members to help them get rid of extremist thoughts, he added.
The last remark came after he assured that his country strongly supports a comprehensive national dialog in Yemen and holding transparent and free parliamentary elections on time.
We encourage the regime and the opposition to commit themselves to a successful dialog, and the U.S. supports all details about the elections based on the two sides approval, he told reporters.
In reply to a question on how the U.S. can separate between Al-Qaeda and the separatist movement, Al-Harak, the ambassador said Al-Qaeda is an extremist group using Yemeni land to achieve its terrorist ends, while concerns remain about the second because of the people's interest and the importance of addressing all national disagreements through a comprehensive and encouraging dialog.
The U.S.-Yemeni cooperation is good and very important, but the U.S. government realizes that boosting the bilateral security cooperation can't overcome the strong extremism, and it realizes all complicated challenges facing the country.
Hence, the U.S. aims at long-term efforts to build a future full of hope and free from political disputes for the Yemeni people, he said.