Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari speaks during a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.

Iraq’s government does not recognize the recently formed political council made up of Houthis and supporters of ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Al-Jaafari met with his Yemeni counterpart Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi in New York on Saturday. Al Mekhlafi confirmed that al-Jaafari has denied Houthi claims that Baghdad backed the controversial council.

Al Jaafari also affirmed his country’s stance refusing to “meddle in other states’ internal affairs.”

Support for peace talks

He also expressed his country’s support for UN-brokered peace talks between Yemeni factions, the state-run Saba news agency quoted Al Mekhlafi as saying. The Iraqi foreign minister welcomed the Yemeni government’s intention to send a new ambassador to Baghdad and invited al-Mekhlafi to visit Iraq.

Last month, Houthi officials had visited Iraq and claimed that Haidar Al Abadi’s government backed the formation of the political council.

Official from former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s party, the General People’s Congress, and Iranian-backed Houthis attend a meeting that named top Houthi official Saleh Samad as the first president of a joint body to rule Yemen, in Sanaa.

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