Colombia’s defense minister on Thursday stressed that his government will not negotiate with the FARC, after Senator Piedad Cordoba asked the E.U. to pressure Colombia to hold peace talks.
Cordoba is currently in Brussels to gather support for her proposed political solution to Colombia’s 46-year-old violent conflict.
But according to Minister Rodrigo Rivera, such proposals “do not even deserve a response by the government.”
“When faced with terrorists there is no alternative to the strong response of all Colombians on all fronts, militarily, politically, legally, and institutionally, as well as on the political and international front,” the minister said.
According to Rivera, starting conversations following the wave of attacks carried out by leftist guerrillas over the past few weeks would “make terrorism profitable.”
Cordoba has for years advocated a political solution to the conflict, but has been opposed by the administrations of former President Alvaro Uribe and current President Juan Manuel Santos who demand that the FARC ceases terrorist activities before peace talks begin.