Santos eyes more talks with ELN

COLOMBIA’S President Juan Manuel Santos ordered the resumption of peace talks with ELN rebels on Monday, aiming to conclude a historic deal before leaving office in August, despite election gains for hard-liners who reject his policies.

Santos redoubled his commitment to the talks despite his ruling coalition losing ground in Sunday’s legislative elections to a right-wing conservative bloc which rejects what it sees as appeasement.

“I have instructed the head of the negotiating team, Gustavo Bell, to travel to Quito and reactivate the dialogue,” Santos said.

The National Liberation Army, or ELN – Colombia’s last active rebel group – welcomed the decision in a statement.

Santos’s announcement came in response to a unilateral ceasefire by the ELN for Sunday’s legislative elections, seen as a test of the group’s willingness to get back to negotiations.

He said the parties would discuss a new, “broad and verifiable” ceasefire agreement that would prevent a resurgence of violence of the kind that forced the suspension of talks in January. “We will advance with prudence, firmness and perseverance until we agree on the demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration of the

ELN, that is, complete peace.”

Several rounds of talks had been held over the course of the previous year in Ecuador, but Santos suspended them following a series of attacks on police stations that left six people dead.