A delegation from Yemen's Saudi-backed government left Riyadh on Wednesday for Sweden, where UN-brokered peace negotiations are set to take place.

A government source told dpa that the delegation, expected to arrive in the afternoon, "hopes the negotiations are successful and the Houthis are more serious this time."

A delegation of the Houthi rebels arrived in Sweden on Tuesday, accompanied by the United Nations' special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

A previous attempt by Griffiths to hold UN-sponsored talks in Geneva collapsed in September when the rebels failed to appear.

The negotiations in Sweden are expected to focus on confidence building between the two sides, the opening of Sana'a airport, lifting the Houthi-imposed siege on Yemen's south-western city of Taiz and finalizing details of a prisoner swap deal recently signed by the two parties.