President Barack Obama threw his support behind Yemen's Vice President just days before an election expected to enshrine him as the new leader of a country the US sees as crucial to the fight against al-Qaida. Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, read the text of the letter to reporters Sunday after delivering it to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi during a two-day visit to the troubled Gulf Arab nation.
Yemen, the Arab's world's poorest country, has been torn apart during a year-old uprising seeking to oust long-time autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh's security forces have used lethal force against demonstrators, killing hundreds, and many others have died in armed clashes with security forces.
Yemen's active al-Qaida branch, which has carried out attacks in the US, has exploited the unrest to seize territory in the country's south. The US has long considered Saleh a necessary but unreliable ally in the fight against the al-Qaida branch, and has been actively involved in brokering a deal to ease the crisis.
Under a deal presented by Yemen's powerful Gulf Arab neighbours, Hadi is to be rubber stamped as the country's new leader in presidential elections Tuesday. He is the only candidate.
In the letter, Obama said he looks forward to deeper relations between the two countries and vows that the US will be "a strong and reliable partner."
He also said he hoped Yemen's political transformation would inspire other Middle East nations facing political transitions.
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