Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday told the US ambassador in Sanaa that he is committed to a plan to step down amid political violence, the State Department said.

State Department media officer Victoria Nuland welcomed Mr Saleh’s remarks but said that he needed to live up to his promises, after a string of statements by the veteran leader voicing support for the plan without implementing it.

Mr Saleh met with US Ambassador Gerald Feierstein to discuss developments in Yemen after the UN Security Council and the United States both urged him to begin the transfer of power immediately, Ms Nuland said.

“It is a positive step that he called the ambassador in and recommitted to him – to us, to the international community – that he intends to sign it,” Ms Nuland told reporters.” So now we look for him to make good on that commitment,” she said.

Under the plan brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, Mr Saleh would step down 30 days upon signing of the deal in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Yemen’s government and dissident general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, whose forces have been engaged in bloody battles for weeks, yesterday announced a truce but the agreement immediately crumbled with 15 people killed in fresh violence.

Mr Saleh had also wanted to speak to the US ambassador about the cease-fire, Ms Nuland said.

While acknowledging the truce has not held, Ms Nuland said it was a “good step” that Mr Saleh “is supportive of the fact that the violence has got to end so that we can set the conditions for discussions about Yemen’s diplomatic future.”