KUWAIT CITY: The United Nation’s envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that Yemen’s warring parties were closer to an agreement at peace talks in Kuwait as he prepared to brief the Security Council on progress in negotiations on Wednesday. “We are moving towards a general understanding that encompasses the expectations and visions of the parties. The discussions have become more sensitive and delicate bringing us closer to a comprehensive agreement,” he said. He is scheduled to brief the UN Security Council on Wednesday in a closed session on the progress made in the peace talks which began on April 21 but have been clouded by repeated walkouts by the government delegation. He clarified on Twitter that he will make the briefing by video conference from Kuwait. Face-to-face meetings resumed on Monday for the first time in nearly a week after the latest government boycott. Ould said that discussions on Tuesday centered on “various military and security issues including withdrawals and troop movements”. We are now working on overcoming various obstacles and addressing specific details of an implementation mechanism, he added. The apparent progress comes after Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi said on Monday that the government stood ready to make concessions for the sake of peace. A Western diplomat familiar with the talks said they had made important progress. “We are in a stage where the parties have to make hard choices and compromises,” he said, adding that he was “very optimistic” that a deal could be reached.