(VOVworld) - The next round of peace talks between Yemen's government and opposition factions scheduled for next week have been postponed, Foreign Minister Abdel Malak al-Mekhlafi said Saturday.

Yemeni FM Abdel Malak al Mekhlafi speaks to the media after the Yemen peace talks in Switzerland in Bern on December 20, 2015.(Photo: Reuters)

Mekhlafi told the media that the negotiations will not take place on the announced date of January 14 because the Houthis rejected the set date.

He said the talks will likely take place on January 20 or 23 adding that UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed would travel to the capital Sanaa on Sunday to "convince the Houthis to participate in the negotiations on the new dates".

The envoy would also seek "confidence-building measures" from the Houthis, including the lifting of their siege of Taez and allowing aid into the southwestern city.

A spokesperson for the Yemeni government Rajeh Badi attributed the postponement to a fact that former President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced not to take part in the talks. Besides Houthis militants and their allies haven’t conformed to the regulations on confidence-building including the release of senior political detainees and clearing the way for the besieged areas in Taez.