Yemen peace talks scheduled for 15 December in Switzerland: UN

Warring parties in Yemen have agreed to peace talks in Switzerland beginning on 15 December, when a temporary ceasefire should be in place, the UN envoy to the country said on Monday.

The UN Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said three delegations had agreed to come to the talks, likely to be held outside of Geneva. 

They include representatives of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi's government, a delegation of the Houthi rebel militia, and officials from the General People's Congress, who are loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Ahmed said there was no timeline for the negotiations, vowing they would last "as long as it takes".

The UN envoy added he was "almost sure" a temporary ceasefire would be in place by the time talks started. 

He said all sides had responded positively to the ceasefire proposal, including the Saudi-led coalition which has been bombarding Yemen in support of the Hadi government. 

According to the UN envoy, Riyadh said it would observe a ceasefire if Hadi backed the idea. 

In June, UN-sponsored talks fell apart before Yemeni parties reached the negotiating table.

At the time, officials with the country's exiled government demanded that the Houthis withdraw from territory they had seized before a pause in fighting, while the Zaidi Shia militia called for the end of air strikes before they would agree to a ceasefire.