Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen said on Monday he had travelled to the country's rebel-held capital to strengthen a truce and push dialogue that could end the country's eight-year-old war.

The Saudi delegation's visit to Sanaa is part of a flurry of diplomatic activity to end the conflict.

"I visit Sanaa along with a delegation from the brotherly Sultanate of Oman to stabilise the truce and ceasefire," Mohammed Al-Jaber said on Twitter in the first official comment from Saudi authorities about the trip.

He added that he also wants to "support the prisoner exchange process and explore venues of dialogue between Yemeni components to reach a sustainable, comprehensive political solution."

A truce announced roughly a year ago has significantly reduced active hostilities within Yemen, and is still largely respected even though it officially expired in October.

A Yemeni government source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said at the weekend that the Saudis and Huthis had agreed in principle on a new six-month truce to pave the way for talks on establishing a two-year "transition".

On Sunday, Huthi media showed Al-Jaber shaking hands with the rebels' political chief, Mahdi al-Mashat.

Huthi officials said on Monday that Al-Jaber had also met with the Huthis' leader, Abdulmalik al-Huthi, though Saudi officials did not confirm this.

Saudi officials have not provided details or responded to requests for comment about the meetings in Sanaa.

A surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, brokered by China and announced a month ago, has fuelled hopes for a cessation of fighting.

- Iran's role -

A Saudi official told reporters last month that talks with Iran in Beijing yielded "concrete commitments" on Yemen and that Riyadh hoped the rapprochement could make a breakthrough on ending the war more attainable.

Specifically, the Saudis have demanded that Iran stop "supplying the Huthis with weapons", the official said.

Before last year's truce went into effect, Saudi Arabia had suffered repeated cross-border attacks, several of which targeted oil facilities in the word's biggest crude exporter.

A deal on a new truce is expected to fulfil key Huthi goals, including paying salaries of civil servants in Huthi-controlled areas and lifting operational restrictions on Huthi-controlled airports and ports.