Yemen: Saleh reportedly willing to negotiate power transfer (VIDEO)

After weeks of stalemate over the future of Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, the Yemeni president signaled Monday that he was willing to find a negotiated solution to the political crisis in Yemen by welcoming the mediation efforts of Gulf countries.

However, while Saleh said he was willing to finding a solution, he did not appear ready to step down yet.

The news of Saleh's willingness to negotiate, reported by state media, came after tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets over the weekenddemanding his immediate resignation. The biggest protests were in the capital, Sanaa, and in the southern city of Taiz, according to DPA.

At least 662 Yemenis, including 24 children, have been killed during three months of protests in Yemen, the poorest Arab country, the United Nations Children’s Fund said Sunday, Bloomberg reports.

Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday, and later urged Saleh to transfer his powers to the vice president and to allow opposition groups to form a transitional unity government. The GCC, a six-nation bloc of oil-producing countries, did not specify a timeframe for a transfer of power.

However, Saleh repeated that he would step down only when his term ends in 2013, the Associated Press reported. Protesters have rejected that condition and are calling for his immediate exit.

Last week, Saleh said he welcomed the council's efforts to help resolve the political crisis in Yemen but that he intended to step down but only under a peaceful and constitutional transition process, according to CNN.

The GCC ministers called on the Yemeni government and opposition leaders to meet in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to discuss an agreement between both sides that will lead to "preserving Yemen's unity, safety and stability," DPA reports

The GCC proposal also promised protection for Saleh and his family from prosecution for crimes under his 32-year leadership, another condition rejected by Saleh's opposition.

The United States, an ally of the Saleh government in its fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, had welcomed past GCC initiatives.

"We strongly encourage all sides to engage in this urgently needed dialogue to reach a solution supported by the Yemeni people," Mark Toner, spokesman for the State Department, said Friday, according to CNN.

"President Saleh has publicly expressed his willingness to engage in a peaceful transition of power; the timing and form of this transition should be identified through negotiation and begin soon."