UNITED NATIONS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Yemen's president told the United Nations on Monday that he has asked the Saudi-led coalition to begin a 7-day ceasefire on Dec. 15 to coincide with U.N.-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending months of fighting that have killed nearly 6,000 people.

"I informed the coalition's leadership that we intend to start a ceasefire for 7 days, from December 15th to 21st, in conjunction with the consultations," President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, excerpts of which were seen by Reuters.

"It will be renewed automatically in case of compliance from the other side," Hadi said. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.