SANA, Yemen — In his first interview since the Yemeni government collapsed, the leader of the Houthi militants in control of Sana, the capital, depicted his movement as eager to share power with its rivals and to reach out to the country’s traditional allies, including the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Saleh Ali al-Sammad, the senior Houthi official in Sana, made the remarks as a new round of United Nations-mediated talks among the Houthis and other major political parties to form a government entered a second day. Yemen has been without a leader since the president and his cabinet resigned on Jan. 22, citing Houthi pressure and attacks.
Mr. Sammad’s remarks, and his unusual willingness to be interviewed by an American news organization, suggested that the Houthis were anxious to climb down from the position they took on Friday, when they declared a unilateral plan for forming a new government and choosing a presidential council to rule in place of the ousted president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
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Mr. Sammad also said the Houthis wanted a Yemen with good relationships with the United States and other countries, provided that its sovereignty was respected. The militants’ slogan, which is chanted at all their rallies and painted on walls all over Sana, includes the phrase “Death to America.”
“We’re not against the people of America, we’re just against its policies,” Mr. Sammad said. “It’s not meant to suggest harming American people. This is just a slogan.”
