BERLIN - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon will hold meetings with Yemen's warring factions and regional powers Sunday, kicking off the first substantive talks by all parties involved in the conflict.

A U.N. spokesman told reporters in Geneva on Friday that Ban hopes the talks will produce a "new dynamic that will build confidence between the Yemeni actors and yield concrete benefits for the population."

Ahmad Fawzi said the U.N.'s special envoy for Yemen will seek to bring the opposing factions together at one table during the negotiations, which will begin as "proximity talks." They are currently scheduled to last two or three days.

Apart from regional actors the ambassadors of Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the European Union and the five U.N. permanent Security Council members will take part in the Geneva talks. (AP)