Yemen peace talks end in failure

"We will be leaving Kuwait today but the Yemeni peace talks are continuing," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a press conference.

Bilateral consultations will be held with the warring parties in coming few weeks to work out details of a potential peace plan, according to the UN envoy.

He also said the two delegation have committed to resume "direct talks within a month at a venue to be agreed upon".

Kuwait remains a possible location for the next round, he said, despite Kuwaiti royals warning that peace talks will not be extended.

"We have guarantees and commitments from the two sides that they are ready to return to the negotiating table," he said.

Despite little results from the peace talks, Ould Cheikh refused to call the process a failure.

"In fact, we have not failed. We believe the Kuwait talks made great progress," he said without elaborating.

The talks began on 21 April, but broke down last month when the rebels rejected a UN peace plan.

They said any settlement must include the formation of a unity government, a proposal which the Aden-based government strongly rejects.

The Yemeni government had been ready to accept the UN plan, but its delegation left Kuwait on Monday until the rebels agree to the proposed accord.

The draft plan called on the rebels to withdraw from territories they had occupied and give up heavy weapons they had seized from the army.

The plan was presented as the UN's final proposal to resolve a conflict that has left at least 6,400 people dead and displaced 2.8 million.