As he announced his agreement to resign, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the the United States, Europe and Gulf Arab states to give him unspecified guarantees.

As he announced his agreement to resign, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the the United States, Europe and Gulf Arab states to give him unspecified guarantees.

"Now that the president has returned, they say there is no need for the vice president to sign. Fine, I am ready to sign," Saleh said in a broadcasted meeting with party leaders in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday.

"But provide guarantees to implement this initiative. We want Gulf guarantees, first, second, European guarantees and third American guarantees," he added.

Violence in Yemen, where thousands have been demonstrating for months demanding that the president end his 33 years in power, has spiked since he returned from Saudi Arabia in September - where he received treatment for injuries sustained in an assassination attempt.

UNSC DRAFT RESOLUTION
On Wednesday, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council circulated a draft resolution to the full 15-nation body urging the swift signing and implementation of an agreement "on the basis of" the Gulf Co-operation Council's (GCC) initiative.

Under the plan, Saleh would transfer power to his deputy until elections could be held and be immune from prosecution.
Despite promises to sign the initiative, Saleh has backed out three times - saying that he will only hand over power to "safe hands".

The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters news agency, would have the Security Council say that it "stresses that all those responsible for violence, human rights violations and abuses should be held accountable". It did not give any details on how accountability would be achieved.

Council diplomats said privately that they hoped the resolution would be voted on and approved next week.