The UN special envoy for Yemen said Thursday he was confident that peace talks between the ousted government and Ansarullah revolutionaries will "probably" be held in mid-November in Geneva.

The UN special envoy for Yemen said Thursday he was confident that peace talks between the ousted government and Ansarullah revolutionaries will "probably" be held in mid-November in Geneva.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, contacted in the Gulf by telephone, told AFP his team was in contact with the Yemeni parties to discuss the modalities of the UN-brokered peace talks.

"I am very optimistic" that the talks will take place "between 10 and 15" November or "around November 15", he said.

"We are 90 percent agreed that they will be in Geneva, but there is also a possibility of Muscat. It will probably be Geneva," said Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

He stressed that the two sides were being positive, "both the Houthis (Ansarullah) who have shown a lot of flexibility, as well as the government side. Today there is an optimism on which I would like to capitalize."

On statements from Riyadh that Saudi-led offensive in Yemen are nearing an end, the UN envoy said: "I am convinced that they are sincere."

Yemen has been since March 26 under brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition. Thousands have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

Riyadh launched the attack on Yemen in a bid to restore power to fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is a close ally to Saudi Arabia.

A first attempt to hold peace talks in Geneva collapsed in June without the warring parties even sitting down in the same room.