Local Editor

British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond predicted that the Saudi-led military aggression against Yemen is nearing its end as the focus turns to political talks.

This comes as Hammond headed a delegation to Riyadh on Wednesday in which relations between both countries were discussed.

"We detect the military phase of this ["]campaign["] is coming to a close as the coalition forces have established a dominant military position in the country", Hammond told reporters at a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir.

Hours earlier, the delegation held talks with King Salman and other members of the royal family. For his part, al-Jubeir told reporters, "We’re optimistic that the talks will lead somewhere". He added that the military action appeared to be heading towards a conclusion.

Hammond also said that the meeting focused on the need "for now accelerating the political discussion" and ensuring the Yemeni revolutionaries and their allies join negotiations for "serious and sensible" talks.

The United Nations [UN] special envoy for Yemen meanwhile told the Security Council on Friday that the Ansarullah group and backers of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh had "clearly committed" to carrying out Resolution 2216.

The UN envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said that the Yemeni government of toppled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had agreed to send a delegation to the forthcoming negotiations, for which no specific date has been set.

A Saudi-led coalition backed by the United States has been carrying out a military aggression on Yemen by launching airstrikes against the country since March 26. The airstrikes have not been authorized by the UN.

Over 2,615 civilians have been killed in the conflict in the last six months, according to the UN. Yet, other organizations put the death toll at much higher.

Riyadh launched the aggression on Yemen in a bid to restore power to fugitive Hadi, a close ally of Saudi Arabia and to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement which is currently resisting the attacks against the country.