By IANS,
Sana’a : Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will work out a plan for his exit within a year, opposition members said after meeting him.
Both sides have reached a “common ground” on opposition demands, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Saleh met representatives of the Joint Meeting Party, a coalition of opposition groups, late Wednesday.
The coalition said: “The president agreed to determine the series of steps he will take to leave power, with no inheritance, during a period of time that will not extend beyond this year.”
Earlier Wednesday, opposition leaders had offered Saleh a five-point plan of demands that called for the president to leave power by the year-end.
Saleh, who has ruled for over 30 years, has been an important regional ally for the US, which has provided millions of dollars in military aid to his government to help battle the Yemen-based affiliate of Al Qaeda.
Earlier this year, Tunisia’s Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak stepped down after anti-government protests swept their countries.