The Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen have suggested they are ready for an end to the country's civil war, in a meeting with representatives from Oman and Saudi Arabia, which has backed the Yemeni government in the years-long conflict.
During the meeting, the head of the Houthis' Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, spoke out in favour of a "just and honourable peace," the rebel-controlled Saba news agency reported Sunday.
The Saudi and Omani delegations have been in Yemen since Saturday, according to the report.
The aim is to renew an UN-brokered nationwide ceasefire and negotiate a peace agreement, it said.
Saudi Arabia has so far not commented on the talks.
The fragile ceasefire was first agreed by the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition supporting it as well as the Iran-backed Houthis last April. Clashes broke out again after the truce ended in October.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition backing the Yemeni government against the Houthis, who months earlier had seized the capital Sana'a and other areas in the impoverished country.
The UN considers Yemen's conflict a humanitarian disaster that has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
The UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has been negotiating with the rebels, who control large swathes of the north of the country, for a long time to find a solution to the conflict, but so far to no avail.
Neighbouring Oman has also acted as a mediator.
