A Saudi diplomat kidnapped in Yemen by Al-Qaeda and held since 2012 has appealed for Riyadh to negotiate his release, in a video posted on YouTube, AFP reported.

Abdullah Al-Khalidi, deputy consul in the southern port city of Aden who was kidnapped on March 28, 2012, appears in the nearly two-minute video with his head covered and sporting a long beard.

In the video posted online Tuesday and released by Al-Qaeda’s Al-Malahem Media, Khalidi said he has so far spent two years and five months in captivity.

Militants from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said they seized Khalidi in a bid to secure the release of female prisoners in Saudi Arabia and to raise a ransom.

AQAP claimed responsibility for Khalidi’s abduction in April.