YEMEN’S Houthi rebels were ready to attend peace talks in Geneva yesterday after previously threatening to pull out over alleged bias in the structure of the meetings.

Delegates from the Houthis and their military allies, who control much of the north and west of the country, had refused to board a plane in the Yemeni capital Sanaa to fly to the talks on Saturday.

A Houthi representative said that they objected to the idea of there being two separate delegations to the talks — one representing the embattled government and one seen as representing a “coup.”

He said this arrangement created an environment aimed at pressing the Houthis to withdraw from Sanaa, rather than continuing a broader multi-party discussion. The Houthis had initially welcomed the meetings.

However, they decided to attend the talks after the United Nations agreed to broaden the talks’ structure so they were not based solely on two warring sides. Members of the Socialist and Haqq parties were also invited.