(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Peace talks between Yemen's warring parties have been postponed to Monday from Sunday as one delegation is arriving late in Geneva, a United Nations statement said yesterday.
Earlier, the UN announced that its special envoy would hold separate "proximity" talks with two main warring parties on Sunday in the hope of bringing them to the same table eventually.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the Yemeni delegations will now arrive in Geneva on Sunday evening. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy Ismail Ould Chiekh Ahmed will begin consultations with the delegations on Monday morning," said the statement.
Talks will be held for three days. However, there are few, if any, signs that any party is ready to make compromises necessary for a deal.
Ahmed said the sides would initially not sit at the same table. "All parties are still barricaded behind their positions and continue to bet on war rather than a political settlement," said Abdel-Bari Taher, a Yemeni analyst.
This may be because President Abdrabbu Mansor Hadi insists talks be limited to discussing implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls for the Houthis to quit Yemen's main cities and recognise his authority.
But it may also be because the Iranian-allied Houthis see little reason to give ground, having increased the territory under their control despite 11 weeks of aerial bombing by a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia. Houthi leaders say they will attend talks without preconditions, although they have complained about a lack of clarity on who will attend and what will be discussed. The exiled government, meanwhile, is showing signs of divisions between Hadi and his deputy Khaled Bahah.
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