GENEVA: Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is prepared to call a cease-fire on Dec. 15 to coincide with the start of UN-led peace talks in Switzerland, the UN mediator said on Monday.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, speaking to reporters in Geneva said: “They (the coalition) are certainly on board regarding our discussion on the cease-fire but they made it very clear that the cease-fire request has to come from President Hadi. I went to Aden to meet President Hadi — as you know, I was in Aden two days ago — and President Hadi has given me his commitment that he is ready now to call for this cease-fire starting on Dec. 15.”

Ahmed said three delegations had agreed to come to the talks, likely to be held outside of Geneva. They include representatives Hadi’s government, a delegation of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and officials from the General People’s Congress, who are loyalists of deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Ahmed said there was no timeline for the negotiations, vowing they would last “as long as it takes.”

Yemeni president meanwhile named a new governor for Aden on Monday following the killing of Jaafar Saad in a car bomb claimed by Daesh.

Hadi appointed Aidarus Al-Zubaidi, the leader of the pro-government Popular Resistance militia in Daleh province, according to a presidential decree.