KUWAIT CITY: UN-brokered peace talks to end 13 months of armed conflict in Yemen opened Thursday in Kuwait with a call for compromise between the rebel and government delegations from the state.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah of host country Kuwait opened the meeting by hailing the talks as “a historic opportunity” to end the bloodshed.

“War will only lead to more devastation, losses and displacement of people,” he said.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed appealed to the warring parties to work to reach a comprehensive and durable accord.

“Today, you have one of two options; a secure nation that guarantees an honorable life or the ruins of a nation,” he said. Ould Cheikh Ahmed called for “compromise” solutions and stressed Yemen was “closer to peace than any time before.”