The expected new round of United Nations-led peace talks on Yemen did not take place Thursday as scheduled, and it is not likely to take place on Friday either, the office of the UN special envoy for Yemen said in a statement.
"We will keep you informed as more details become available," the statement said.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths met with the Yemeni government delegation on Thursday morning and exchanged ideas on the expectations of the scheduled new talks in Geneva and relevant issues to the peace process.
However, due to the absence of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, the scheduled peace talks, the first since the last talks in Kuwait failed two years ago, were stalled on the first day.
Hamza al-Kamali, member of the delegation of the Government of Yemen talks to the media in Geneva, Switzerland, September 6, 2018. /VCG Photo
Led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, a Yemen government delegation arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday.
But on what was meant to be the opening day of talks, the rebels issued an ultimatum from Sanaa, saying they would not join until the UN meets three conditions that it had already agreed to.
They want the transportation of wounded rebels to Oman for medical care, the repatriation of rebels who have already received treatment there, and a guarantee that the Houthi delegation will be allowed to return to Sanaa after the Geneva talks.
Some media reports from Sanaa said the Houthis would not join peace talks in Geneva until their conditions were met, while another report said the Houthi delegation was simply stranded in Sanaa because the Saudi-led coalition, which controls the airspace, had not given them permission to fly.
The Houthis control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, while a Saudi-led coalition which backs President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government controls the country's airspace.
According to the latest news report, the Yemeni government has given the Houthis 24-hours to join UN-sponsored talks in Geneva.
Yemen delegation member Hamza Alkamali said the talks had been scheduled for two months and that the rebels clearly "don't want peace."
(Cover: United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths leaves a hotel after meeting the delegation of the Government of Yemen in Geneva, Switzerland, September 6, 2018. /VCG Photo)