Yemen's warring parties meet for 3rd day of talks in Sweden

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2018, file photo, Saudi-led coalition backed forces patrol Mocha, Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation.(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)

December 8, 2018 at 12:28 AM CST - Updated December 8 at 12:33 AM

RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Yemen's warring parties are meeting for a third day of talks in Sweden aimed at halting the country's catastrophic 4-year-old war.

Both the internationally recognized government, which is backed by a U.S.-sponsored and Saudi-led coalition, and the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels say they are striving for peace.

The Houthi delegation says talks have been divided into five main sections, including discussions on a political framework and the opening of Sanaa airport for aid.

The talks opened Thursday on an upbeat note, with the warring sides agreeing to a broad prisoner swap, boosting hopes that the talks would not deteriorate into further violence as in the past.

U.N. officials have sought to downplay expectations from the talks, saying they don't foresee rapid progress toward a political settlement.

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2018, file, photo, homeless children stand on the road from Khoukha to Taiz in Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation.(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2018, file, photo, a severely malnourished boy rests on a hospital bed at the Aslam Health Center, Hajjah, Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) (Source: Hani Mohammed)

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, file photo, a worker looks at a chocolate factory destroyed by a Saudi-led airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) (Source: Hani Mohammed)

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2018, file, photo, a malnourished boy sits on a hospital bed at the Aslam Health Center, Hajjah, Yemen.Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) (Source: Hani Mohammed)

FILE - This Feb. 13, 2018, file, photo shows photographs of severely malnourished infants hung on wall in the administrative office at the Aden Hospital, in Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2018, file photo, Ahmed Rashid Mokbel, a severely malnourished 7-month-old Yemeni boy, is given formula by his mother at the Al-Sadaqa Hospital in Aden, Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2018, file photo, men ride through streets wrecked by fighting in Taiz, Yemen in this Feb. 4, 2018, photo. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation.(AP Photo, File) (Source: Maad Al Zekri)

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2018, file, photo, a doctor measures the arm of malnourished girl at the Aslam Health Center, Hajjah, Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) (Source: Hani Mohammed)

FILE - This Feb. 15, 2018, file, photo shows sand drifting over an empty highway from Abyan to Aden in Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2018, file, photo, Umm Mizrah, a 25-year-old Yemeni woman, holds her son Mizrah on a scale in Al-Sadaqa Hospital in the southern Yemen city of Aden in this Feb. 13, 2018 photo. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2018 file photo, a boy sits in a damaged car in Mocha, Yemen. Envoys from Yemen’s warring parties are headed to Sweden for another round of peace talks to stop the three-year-old war, but with few incentives to compromise, expectations are low for little more than improving a faltering de-escalation. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File) (Source: Nariman El-Mofty)