Following a short break, delegates of Colombia’s government and the country’s largest rebel group FARC enter on Monday a crucial stage of peace talks.
During the last phase of the talks, common ground was found between the two parties on the question of land reform, the first point on the negotiators’ agenda that is expected to be formally signed during the talks beginning on Monday.
MORE: Colombia govt, FARC negotiators find common ground on agricultural reform
Before the team left for Cuba Sunday, Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos met with them to give encouragement. “I met with negotiators to see if we can seek to have no more victims of the conflict,” said the president.
The current discussions will focus on the themes of rural development and the use of land. If the talks result in an agreement regarding land reform, the negotiators will move on to the possible political participation of the FARC.
The government announced peace talks with Latin America’s largest and oldest guerrilla group in August. The negotiations aim to find a political solution to the country’s half-a-century-long armed conflict between rebels and state.
BACKGROUND: Text of deal between Colombia’s government and rebel group FARC to end armed conflict
Sources
- ‘Me reuní con los negociadores que viajan a La Habana para ver si logramos que nunca más haya víctimas del conflicto’: Presidente Santos (press release)
