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Yemen ready to discuss ceasefire if Houthis withdraw - minister


    GENEVA (Reuters) - Yemeni Foreign Minister Reyad Yassin Abdulla said on Monday his government could discuss a limited ceasefire with Houthis, but only if the Iran-backed militia withdrew from cities, released more than 6,000 prisoners and complied with a U.N. resolution.

    Earlier U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened peace talks in Geneva with a call for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying Yemen was on the verge of a collapse that the Middle East could not withstand.

    Abdulla, part of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government in exile in Riyadh, told reporters: "If they start complying with the U.N. resolution, release prisoners they are holding, more than 6,000, including the defence ministers and others, if they withdraw from Aden and Taiz and other cities and stop killing innocent people, then you can discuss."

    (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Tom Miles)