The negotiating teams of the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas returned to peace talks on Thursday in Ecuador’s capital after a two-month suspension.
The ELN confirmed the return to the negotiating table on its official Twitter account, with both sides starting the fifth round of talks at Hacienda Cashapamba, around 30 km from Quito.
The teams, led by Gustavo Bell for the government and Pablo Beltran for the ELN, began talks for the first time since Jan. 10, when Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos stopped them following a series of terrorist attacks on police by the ELN.
The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said that, after talks restart, both sides will issue a joint statement.
Santos announced on Monday that his team would return to Quito. “The objective is to advance the agenda and to reach a new ceasefire and put an end to hostilities,” he said.
The last ceasefire lasted for 101 days but was ended by the ELN on Jan. 9, before launching a series of bombings on police stations, killing at least eight police officers.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said Thursday that “peace is closer” in Colombia.
She welcomed the restart of the dialogue by sharing photos of both teams at the dialogue table on Twitter, saying that she felt “great happiness when looking at these images.”
The dialogue seeks to end half a century of armed conflicts in Colombia.
