DUBAI, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Anwar Gargash, United Arab Emirates (UAE) minister of state for foreign affairs, said Saturday that the absence of the Houthi rebels at the UN-sponsored Geneva peace talks showed their "indifference towards ending the suffering of the Yemeni people."
The Houthis reportedly said Friday that they did not attend the talks in Geneva because they were not given guarantees to get a "safe return" to the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which the group has been occupying since September 2014.
The talks were intended to find a diplomatic solution to the three-and-a-half-year war in Yemen which has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis.
"The UN-led Yemen peace process in Geneva shows what the Houthis are: a violent extremist militia and obstructionist," Gargash said on his Twitter account.
The Houthis are interested in "obtaining the capital, power and benefits of a war economy," while Yemen urgently needs a political process to end the current crisis, said Gargash.
The UAE accuses Iran of backing the Houthis in an attempt to destabilize the Gulf region.
The UAE is part of a Saudi-led Arab military coalition in Yemen which has been fighting the Shiite Houthis since March 2015 to support the internationally-recognized government led by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
