A spokesman for Jordan’s Foreign Ministry says the country will host a round of UN-backed talks between the internationally recognized government of Yemen and the Houthi militias, about a prisoner swap deal next week.

Sufian al-Qudah said Saturday that Jordan agreed to host the Yemenis at the UN’s request.

Yemen’s four-year war pits the Iran-aligned Houthi militias against an internationally recognized government. In recent peace talks in Sweden, the sides agreed to a series of confidence-building measures, including an exchange of thousands of prisoners.

Implementation has been slow, marred by violence and violations by the Houthis.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Anwar Gargash, urged the United Nations - in a series of tweets on Wednesday - to take urgent actions to stop the Houthi violations of the ceasefire agreement in Yemen, saying that the pro-Iranian militias have violated the deal almost 1,000 times.

AFP.