The world must act now to end the war in Yemen and save millions of people from the brink of famine, the man who is trying to broker a peace deal has told Sky News.

Martin Griffiths, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, said in an exclusive interview that the way ahead would be clearer by the end of the year after a much-anticipated round of talks between the warring sides is held in Sweden in the coming weeks.

Martin Griffiths: Failure in Yemen would be 'appalling'

The former British diplomat said he believed it was possible to resolve the near four-year conflict between Houthi rebels, allied with Iran, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition, but he warned of dire consequences if efforts fail.

"If famine takes hold in Yemen then the enormity of the humanitarian task to try and keep people alive is mindboggling," Mr Griffiths said, speaking in Amman where he is based, before he flew to New York to address the United Nations Security Council.

Image: Mr Griffiths warned a failure to hold talks would lead to even greater disaster

"We have to act now. We have to go as fast as we can in the other direction to try and stop it… If we have the stoppage of the war, if we can resolve that larger conflict, it gives us a chance to start building peace.


"But only the chance to start building it. You don't build peace through stopping a war; you just give yourself the opportunity to begin."

In his interview, the envoy revealed:

:: An agreement has been reached to ensure a Houthi delegation can attend talks in Sweden without fear of being prevented from returning to Yemen by the coalition - an obstacle that doomed a previous attempt to meet in Geneva in September.

:: A halt in a coalition-backed offensive to retake the key port city of Hodeidah, a lifeline for food and fuel to millions of people, must be maintained for peace talks to take place. A resumption of the operation would likely derail the plan.

:: He has shared with all parties to the conflict a framework agreement that he hopes will help shape the Sweden dialogue and pave the way for all sides to find a political solution.

Image: A displaced child from Hodeida sits next to food aid

"Yemen is still in my view on the right side of the line in terms of whether it can be resolved. But it won't stay there. If we don't address this quickly we will lose it," Mr Griffiths said.

Setting out a timeline for peace, he said he hoped all sides would meet in Sweden "within the next few weeks" in what he said would be an "extraordinarily important first round" more than two years since the last time dialogue took place in Kuwait, only to break down.

"After that I think we will be quite well placed by the middle of December or before the end of the year to assess the way ahead and the likelihood of timing and pace to resolve the issues of the negotiations," Mr Griffiths said.

He conceded that merely holding talks would not end the war.

The envoy pointed to the Troubles in Northern Ireland and how they were ultimately resolved with a political solution, signalling that the same acceptance into mainstream politics of Sinn Fein would need to happen with the Houthis.

Exclusive: Hope for the children of Yemen

He referred to the Houthis by their official name, Ansar Allah.

"We need to find an appropriate formula for the involvement of Ansar Allah and other political parties throughout Yemen in a government of unity that alone will be able to make the transition from war to peace," Mr Griffiths said.

He welcomed a call last month by Jim Mattis, the US defence secretary, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, for a cessation of hostilities in Yemen and resumption of peace talks. He also said the UK's efforts behind the scene were important.

Britain and the United States supply arms to Saudi Arabia - a relationship that has caused concern because of civilian casualties in coalition airstrikes in Yemen.

Ties with Riyadh have also been strained by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Mr Griffiths refused to be drawn on whether the journalist's death had galvanised international efforts to pressure Saudi Arabia to end the Yemen war.

He said all sides to the conflict, including the Houthis, the Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - another main player in the coalition - as well as the international community want the fighting to end.

The war has killed more than 10,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with disease and hunger rife.

WARNING: This report contains distressing images. Sky News visits Yemen as starving civilians flee the war there.

He said a complete ceasefire was not necessary for peace talks but significant fighting, for example in Hodeidah, would make meaningful dialogue difficult.

The offensive on rebel-held Hodeidah was halted earlier this week but local people say they fear a resumption of large-scale fighting at any moment.

"Please can every one hold their breath and get this … conflict into a discussion rather than into violence," Mr Griffiths said.