Yemen FM: We will give talks 'last chance'

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Mikhlafi who is leading the government negotiating team announced Saturday that he received regional and international guarantees to comply with the six points mentioned by the government delegation in Kuwait consultations.

He added in a tweet that the delegation received the guarantees in order to give Kuwait consultations a ‘last chance.’

The Yemeni government late on Tuesday suspended its participation in UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait and said it would only return if its opponents, the Houthis, committed to withdraw from cities they have seized since 2014 and hand over weapons.

The talks center on government demands for the Houthis to hand over their weapons and quit cities captured since 2014 and the formation of a new government that would include the Houthis.

The pullout comes after UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he was optimistic about achieving a peaceful settlement in the war-torn country.

The two delegations were on the verge of finalizing a deal to release half of the detainees and prisoners before the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in early June.

The United Nations estimates that more than 6,400 people have been killed and 2.8 million displaced in Yemen since March last year.

Kuwait emir urges Yemen foes to press on with peace talks