Yemeni embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would hand over power to military if he was forces to step down under opposition’s pressure.

Yemeni embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would hand over power to military if he was forces to step down under opposition’s pressure.

“We... are ready to make sacrifices for the country. But you will always be there, even if we step down," Saleh said while addressing his loyalist troops, Agence France Press reported.

Saleh reportedly made the remarks during a Saturday visit to the Republican Guards, an elite army unit led by his son Ahmed, near the capital city of Sanaa.

The remarks came ahead of a Monday meeting of the United Nations Security Council which is scheduled to discuss Saleh's refusal to hand over power under an Arab-brokered plan.

The initiative proposed by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council offers Saleh immunity from prosecution in return for his resignation.

On October 21, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2014 which condemned attacks on demonstrators by Saleh's forces and threw its weight behind the Arab initiative.

Saleh, who has been ruling Yemen since 1978, has welcomed the plan but has yet to formally endorse it.