Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a Gulf initiative on Wednesday to hand over power to his deputy as part of a proposal to end months of protests that have pushed the Arab country to the brink of civil war.

Saudi state television broadcast live images of Saleh signing the accord in the presence of Saudi King Abdullah and Crown Prince Nayef. Yemeni opposition officials signed the accord after Saleh.

The deal was signed in the Saudi capital Riyadh and King Abdullah hailed it as marking a "new page" in Yemen's history.

Meanwhile, Saleh has told UN chief Ban Ki-moon he will go to New York for medical treatment immediately after signing the deal, Ban said.

The UN secretary-general told reporters the Yemeni leader told him of the trip during a telephone conversation on Tuesday.   

"He told me that he will come to New York to take medical treatment immediately after signing this agreement," Ban said.
   
This is the fourth attempt to wrap up a power transfer deal that Saleh has backed out of on three previous occasions at the last minute.

Saleh was previously forced to seek treatment in Saudi Arabia for injuries suffered in an apparent assassination attempt in June after the last time he ducked out of the deal, which ushered in street battles that devastated parts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. - Reuters