Sanaa, Yemen - Dec 3, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. National flag of Yemen
2. Various of pedestrians, traffic

Washington D.C., USA - Dec 7, 2018 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gerald Feierstein, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen (ending with shots 4-6):
"It's quite correct to be a little bit cautious about expectations for this round of discussions. These are being billed not as negotiations, but as consultations. I think that Martin Griffiths appropriately has established very modest goals for the talks. The prisoner exchange was one of the key achievables that he thought he can get to. He is looking perhaps for an agreement to reopen the Sanaa airport and possibly some agreement on the way forward for the port of Hodeidah. But this isn't a peace negotiation. The two parties are not meeting face to face, and the delegations really are not at a senior enough level to make those kinds of agreements. I think what we should be hoping for is that this lays a foundation for further talks and perhaps real negotiation that will end the conflict."

Stockholm, Sweden - Dec 6, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Venue for peace talks between Yemeni government, Houthi rebels
5. Delegates exiting building
6. Various of meeting in progress

Beirut, Lebanon - Dec 7, 2018 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Rizk, political analyst:
"So I believe that all of this put together would have to push the Saudis and the Emirates, as I said, to make some real concessions. And so this might be a good opportunity for Martin Griffiths with the spotlight as I said, being on the Saudis, all over the place for all world media, European countries, as I mentioned, the U.S. Congress. We hear all of this negative talk. Saudi Arabia's image is completely tarnished. So bearing that in mind, I think we do have quite a possibility to achieve something real, which wasn't achieved in the previous rounds like those which took place in Kuwait."

Aden, Yemen - Dec 3, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of pedestrians, traffic

Washington D.C., USA - Dec 7, 2018 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Gerald Feierstein, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen:
"The issue is not a Saudi issue. It is a Yemeni issue. And decisions about how to end this conflict eventually will depend on the willingness of the Yemeni parties to reach an agreement."

Aden, Yemen - Dec 3, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of pedestrians, traffic

Beirut, Lebanon - Dec 7, 2018 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Rizk, political analyst:
"In order to achieve peace, you have to put a stop to this foreign aggression, which has been going on for over four years by the Saudis and the Emirates and some other allies. So it is a Yemeni issue, but Saudi Arabia also dragged themselves and launched this illegitimate war if you would like."

Aden, Yemen - Dec 3, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of harbor, ships, port

A new round of peace talks between warring parties in Yemen began in Sweden on Thursday, even though observers remain cautious of any major breakthroughs.

Speaking during a China Global Television (CGTN) program on Friday, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein underscored that the so-called peace talks aren't peace negotiations at all.

"It's quite correct to be a little bit cautious about expectations for this round of discussions. These are being billed not as negotiations, but as consultations," he said.

"The two parties are not meeting face to face, and the delegations really are not at a senior enough level to make those kinds of agreements. I think what we should be hoping for is that this lays a foundation for further talks and perhaps real negotiation that will end the conflict," he explained.

Agreements between Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed Yemeni officials on prisoner swaps as well as the opening of Sanaa airport and the port city of Hodeidah are the "very modest goals" of the United Nations Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, Feierstein noted, adding that the UN-sponsored talks could be a stepping stone for "real negotiations" to end the conflict.

Just hours before the talks began, the two sides traded threats. Houthi rebels vowed to shut down Sanaa airport, which they control, while Yemeni officials demanded a Houthi withdrawal from Hodeidah.

According to political analyst Ali Rizk, given the timing, when Saudi Arabia and its allies are under pressure over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Riyadh is likely to make some "real concessions."

"And so this might be a good opportunity for Martin Griffiths with the spotlight as I said, being on the Saudis, all over the place for all world media, European countries, as I mentioned, the U.S. Congress. We hear all of this negative talk. Saudi Arabia's image is completely tarnished. So bearing that in mind, I think we do have quite a possibility to achieve something real, which wasn't achieved in the previous rounds like those which took place in Kuwait," said Rizk.

But experts differ on the importance of Saudi Arabia in resolving the Yemeni conflict. Feierstein believes that it's not a Saudi issue, but a Yemeni issue.

"And decisions about how to end this conflict eventually will depend on the willingness of the Yemeni parties to reach an agreement," he argued.

Rizk countered that despite the fact that it is a Yemeni issue, the Saudis and Emiratis are the ones who launched an "illegitimate war."

"In order to achieve peace, you have to put a stop to this foreign aggression, which has been going on for over four years by the Saudis and the Emirates and some other allies. So it is a Yemeni issue, but Saudi Arabia also dragged themselves and launched this illegitimate war if you would like," he said.

Since the conflict began four years ago, tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. Some 75 percent of Yemen's population is in dire need of humanitarian support, children in particular.

A recent statement issued by UNICEF said: "The toll of almost four years of recent fighting across Yemen is mind-boggling, with more than 2,700 children recruited to fight an adults' war. Over 6,700 children have been verified killed or severely injured. Nearly 1.5 million children have been displaced, many of them living a life that is a mere shadow of what childhood should be."