"It is totally associated with the withdrawal from all cities, they should release the prisoners they are holding, they should start working with the international community," Yaseen told journalists in English.
Yaseen said that when the Houthis fulfill all of these terms and stop firing, "then there will be something to talk about."
Yemen’s top diplomat added that the Yemeni government does not consider these terms to be preliminary conditions, but the fulfillment of a UN Security Council resolution.
Yaseen's remarks on the opening day of the crisis meetings in Geneva came as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a two-week ceasefire in the conflict that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates has killed over 2,500 people.
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur's regime suffered considerable damage early this year with the Houthis capturing Yemeni capital Sanaa and prompting Mansur's departure to Riyadh.
Monday's UN-mediated talks are expected to feature a total of 18 Yemeni factions, including Hadi's supporters and a Houthi delegation. Some of the participants, including Houthi delegates, were en route and expected to arrive in Geneva later on Monday.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, will serve as a mediating party between government forces and the Houthis, who are so far refusing to meet directly.
