Sanaa — A deal mediated by a Gulf bloc to end Yemen's political crisis has been thrown into doubt by the country's leader saying he will not personally sign it.
Officials from President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party say the Yemeni leader has told the head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation council in a late Saturday meeting that a senior aide would represent him at a signing ceremony scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Yemeni opposition parties said it would not sign the deal if Saleh did not.
The GCC proposals provide for Saleh to hand over power to his vice president within 30 days.
The officials spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
