The conflicting sides in Yemen agreed on the wide framework to end the war in their current talks in Switzerland, according to the UN.
UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the representatives of both sides will meet for a second round on 14 January, but the location is still unknown.
“The participants in this meeting unanimously agreed that the final aim is to end this war and to reach a permanent ceasefire,” Ould Cheilkh said in a press conference. They will focus their efforts on that in the next few days, he added, noting that the trust between both sides is “nonexistent”.
Recently, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abel Malik Al-Mekhalfy told journalists that the ceasefire, which was supposed to end this week, will be extended for another week provided that all sides commit to it.
The Saudi Arabian-led coalition began launching strikes on Houthis in Yemen last March, to reinstate President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to power. The airstrikes have since resulted in the deaths of around 6,000 people.
Yemen’s warring parties met in Geneva last week for UN-backed negotiations as a fragile seven-day ceasefire came into effect. The talks involve Yemen-based parties on both sides, including the current Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement that it is fighting it.
The negotiations aim to find a “durable settlement” to the months-long crisis, according to a previous statement from Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s office.
