Yemen's Warring Sides Discuss Military Pullouts, Arms Handovers: UN
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemen's fugitive former government and Houthis have discussed the crucial issues of military withdrawals, the handover of weapons and the restoration of state institutions during peace talks, the UN said Thursday.
Negotiators Wednesday also debated the logistical details of a release of prisoners and detainees announced a day earlier, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement on Thursday.
It was their third day of consecutive face-to-face meetings -- the longest run yet in the three-week-old talks.
"Parties began to present their visions on the withdrawals and the handover of weapons, especially mechanisms of withdrawal and assembling of forces," Ould Cheikh Ahmed said, as reported by AFP.
He did not say if the teams made any progress on these issues, which are central to any peace settlement in the impoverished Arab nation.
A working group focused on political issues meanwhile discussed "specific aspects for the restoration of state institutions and the resumption of the political dialogue," Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.
There has been mounting international pressure to end the Yemen conflict, which the United Nations estimates has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since a Saudi-led aggression against the country began in March last year.
The two sides said Tuesday they had agreed to free half of all prisoners and detainees within 20 days, but the UN said the agreement has not been finalized.
More meetings are scheduled for Thursday. The talks follow two failed peace attempts in June and December last year in Switzerland.