UK's Hunt holds Saudi talks on Yemen conflict, rights

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt held talks Saturday with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh that focused on journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder and the jailing of women activists in the kingdom.

Hunt also discussed a fragile truce in the flashpoint Yemeni city of Hodeida with the Saudi foreign minister of state Adel al-Jubeir and Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is based in Riyadh.

Hunt's visit came after he failed last month to convince Germany to end its ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, as Berlin shrugged off his warnings that the embargo was hurting the European defence industry and efforts to bring peace in Yemen.

"Important discussion with @AdelAljubeir about human rights reforms and current issues including Khashoggi, women activists," Hunt said on Twitter, without offering any details.

The murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last October sparked global uproar and tarnished the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The killing has weakened the kingdom's diplomatic position and hurt its strategic relations with Western allies, even though it strongly denies that the crown prince was involved.

Hunt's visit came just a day after Saudi Arabia announced that it will put jailed women activists on trial after holding them for nearly a year without charge, prompting strong condemnation from rights groups.

Some of those detained have allegedly faced torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, following their arrest in May last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners.

Hunt also met Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf on his Gulf tour, which includes stopovers in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

"Our strategic partnership (with) Saudi Arabia helps us to keep the UK safe, to make progress on diplomatic priorities like Yemen, and to discuss frankly issues of concern," Hunt said.

Hunt complained, however, about slow implementation of a ceasefire deal in rebel-held Hodeida, which was agreed in Sweden in December between the Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels.

The deal was hailed as Yemen's best chance so far to end the four-year conflict, but it appears to be hanging by a thread with breaches reported by both warring parties.

"Progress fragile but within sight for UN-backed peace talks on Yemen, as I discussed with Yemeni President Hadi in Riyadh today," Hunt tweeted
"There is a lack of trust and it is taking too long to implement the Stockholm (deal) but no one has a better plan so we need to get going and end the crisis."