File Photo: US Secretary of State John Kerry. (Agence France-Presse)
US Secretary of State John Kerry called Friday on Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen and those who have "influence over them" to come to the negotiating table and end the unrest in the Gulf nation.
"This has to be a two-way street," Kerry told reporters, saying Saudi Arabia was moving to a humanitarian phase of its Yemen campaign and "we need the Huthi and we need those that can influence them to make sure that they are prepared to try to move... to the negotiating table."
The United Nations had already appointed a facilitator and both sides appeared ready to discuss a location for peace talks, Kerry said.
"Now the key is to get that up and running and get to the talks as fast as possible because a political solution is absolutely essential," the top US diplomat said.
Innocent civilians were being caught up in the violence in Yemen and it was "a top priority to try to minimize it," he added.
"Hopefully in the next days this will de-escalate even more and we can get to a place where negotiations take hold."