Germany has denied the reports it accepted to host Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Akhbar Alyoum newspaper reported on Wednesday quoting a statement by a spokesman for the German embassy in Sanaa.

This week, reports surfaced Germany had accepted to host Saleh and that Saudi Arabia will pay the expense of his stay within the two countries support to the political settlement in Yemen.

"The position of Germany on this issue is firm...Germany has not decided to give Saleh a visa or to host him," the spokesman said.

Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, stepped down in November under a power-transfer deal that was brokered by the GCC and backed by the West after the unrest.

His stay in the country remains controversial since it does not serve the transitional period and there are demands Saleh should leave after he was given immunity under the deal.

The newspaper also quoted a Yemeni official as saying President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi discussed the issue of Saleh's departure during his first overseas trip to Europe, the US and Saudi Arabia.

"Saleh's exit was a key topic discussed on the visit," the official said.

Members in the opposition-led power-sharing government have argued that Saleh was given full immunity from prosecution to stay away from politics.

Saleh's stay and acts affecting the democratic transition violate the deal and other agreements reached between the opposition and the General People's Congress, officials said.