United Nations special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday that building trust between the warring parties in the country was the first step towards holding consultations.
The legitimate government and Iran-backed Houthi militias were invited by the envoy to hold UN-sponsored consultations in Geneva. The talks were set to kick off on Thursday, but have been postponed to Friday.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Griffiths said that the two sides were keen on reaching an agreement on a prisoner exchange.
Its success requires cooperation between the two sides, he added.
He hoped the Geneva consultations would breathe life into the political process that would resolve the Yemen crisis.
Furthermore, he clarified that the upcoming talks were “consultations,” not formal negotiations.
"The people of Yemen... are desperately in need of a signal of hope. We would like to think that the work we will do together in these next days will begin to send a flickering signal of hope to them," he remarked.
There can be no military solution, stressed the envoy.
Moreover, he said that a ceasefire is not a condition to launch the consultations, hoping that no military provocation would take place to hinder the talks.
