US terror expert visits UAE for Yemen talks

His visit comes amid several high-level contacts between the US and UAE in the recent months of regional unrest.

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ABU DHABI // The White House's chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan will visit the UAE this week to discuss events in Yemen, where hundreds have died in anti-government protests.

The US has condemned the Sana'a government's use of force against protesters and the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has three times rejected GCC-brokered deals for him to step down.

"President Saleh was given a very good offer - that we strongly backed - by the Gulf countries, and we cannot expect this conflict to end unless President Saleh and his government move out of the way," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

Mr Brennan, whose trip began in Sudan and includes Saudi Arabia, restated the US's position in a phone conversation with Mr Saleh two weeks ago,.

His visit comes amid several high-level contacts between the US and UAE in the recent months of regional unrest.

Mrs Clinton will visit Abu Dhabi next week when the capital hosts the next meeting of the international contact group on Libya.

In April, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, met the US national security adviser Tom Donilon and the defence secretary Robert Gates in Abu Dhabi, and later visited Barack Obama at the White House.