Former Yemeni president undergoing 'medical tests' in Riyadh

Ali Abdullah Saleh's party says the Yemeni politician is in 'good health' Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has left Sanaa for the Saudi capital Riyadh. In a brief statement on his Facebook page on Monday night, Saleh said he was in Riyadh for "for medical tests."
Meanwhile, sources from Saleh's party General People's Congress (GPC) told Arabstoday that the former president had arrived in Riyadh on Monday night for a routine medical examination, adding that the Yemeni politician is in "good health."
Saleh, who relinquished power in November 2011, was seriously injured in a bomb blast outside his presidential palace in Sanaa, in June 2011. The 71-year old, who suffered severe burns all over his body, underwent treatment in a Saudi Arabian hospital for three months.
It is believed that Saleh's Saudi doctors have been monitoring his progress, and had advised him to travel back to Saudi Arabia for regular check-ups. However, the former president decided to remain in Sanaa in a show of defiance to his opponents who tried to exclude him from Yemen's National Dialogue Conference in which his political allies have 112 seats.
Earlier on Monday, Saleh wrote a blog post in which he called on foreign ambassadors to avoid making any public statements against the parties participating in the dialogue.
His comments referred to US Ambassador in Sanaa Gerald Feierstein's remarks that Saleh's interference in Yemen was preventing a smooth transition of power.
Saleh said: "We in the leadership of the People's Congress, call on all the ambassadors of the sponsors of Gulf initiative to avoid anything that might strain public opinion through statements against any component of the dialogue conference, whether GPC or others."
Sources close to Saleh's opponents said that his trip to Riyadh was due to pressure from both GPC representatives and external parties.
The Yemeni leader's departure to Riyadh coincides with his successor President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's official visit to the Russia.