(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Saleh, who has ruled Yemen since 1978, received top US counter-terrorism official John Brennan in a hospital in Riyadh where he is recovering after being badly burned in a bomb attack at his presidential palace last month.
Despite strong Western pressure, Saleh has repeatedly refused to sign a plan brokered by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council bloc in which he would hand over power within 30 days in exchange for a promise of immunity from prosecution.
"During the meeting, Mr. Brennan called upon President Saleh to fulfill expeditiously his pledge to sign the [P]GCC-brokered agreement for peaceful and Constitutional political transition in Yemen," the White House said.
"The United States believes that a transition in Yemen should begin immediately so that the Yemeni people can realize their aspirations."
Saleh has refused to cede power despite protests that have left at least 200 people dead across Yemen, saying repeatedly that under the constitution he should serve out his current term of office which expires in 2013.
Before the attack he pledged to sign the [P]GCC deal but later reneged, leading to renewed protests and the withdrawal of the regional bloc from mediation efforts.
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