Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said he will step down from office.
Saleh made his remarks in a speech delivered on state television.
"I reject power and I will leave it in the coming days and leave it behind, but there are men who will hold power, there are men who have been honest to God, civilian or military, and they will take control of the country," Saleh said.
For the past nine months, Yemen has been largely paralysed by protests against Saleh's 33-year rule.
It's not the first time Saleh has expressed a willingness to step down amid the protests, and he has backed out of previous deals that would see him give up power.
Saleh has been under international pressure to resign and allow new elections. He has been clinging to power while opposition and ruling party representatives have been negotiating to see through a transition-of-power deal.
Saleh recently returned to his country from Saudi Arabia, where he received medical treatment for wounds suffered in a rocket attack on his presidential compound in June.
compiled from agency reports