SANAA: Yemen's deposed leader says the Arab Spring revolts that swept the region last year brought "destruction" to the nations in which they took place.

Ali Abdullah Saleh say Yemen's own yearlong revolt cost billions of dollars in lost revenues.

Saleh also criticized what he said was "biased" implementation of the power-transfer deal that saw him step down in February, and said it could ignite a new crisis. This was an apparent response to new President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's moves to purge the security forces of the ex-leader's loyalists.

Saleh's Saturday night comments came in an address to university graduates and were reported by aides who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.