The Colombian government resumes peace talks with the ELN

(ANSA) – BOGOTÁ, OCTOBER 10 – The Colombian government has accepted the invitation of the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) to resume peace talks, interrupted by President Gustavo Petro last September 17 after an attack against Puerto Jordán military base in the department of Arauca where three soldiers died and thirty were injured. “We accept the invitation to hold a meeting that will allow us to address all these issues and resume our dialogue in search of the peace that Colombian society asks of us,” the government’s peace delegation said in the afternoon. The ELN announced yesterday that it was preparing “to meet with the government’s dialogue delegation to examine the crisis in which the “peace” process finds itself in the presence of the guarantor countries and permanent companions”. ELN and the Colombian government have not met since May due to a series of disagreements that resulted in the failure to renew the ceasefire, which ended on August 3. The government delegation assured this afternoon that after announcing the suspension of the talks due to the September 17 attack, it was necessary for the ELN to demonstrate its willingness “to move forward with the peace process” and recalled that negotiations are the sole “instance to resolve the problems that have arisen”. (HANDLE).