"Substantial progress" in peace talks with Bogota: FARC

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said Sunday that there has been "substantial progress" in peace talks with the Colombian government.

"There has been substantial progress in the formation of an agreement on cease-fire and a definitive end to bilateral fighting," FARC spokesman Carlos Antonio Lozada said in Havana, Cuba, where the negotiations are taking place.

Lozada said both sides have made concrete proposals on laying down arms, one of the thorniest issues the two sides must tackle.

"There will be important announcements on very substantial topics," he added.

Since late 2012, the FARC and Bogota have been in talks to end their five-decade fighting, and seem to be close to a final peace deal.

In what appeared to be a gesture on the part of the Colombian government to bolster trust between the two sides, the authorities recently arrested Santiago Uribe, brother of former hard-line president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), who opposes negotiating with the rebels.

Santiago Uribe has been accused of being linked to right-wing paramilitary forces in Colombia, which FARC considers the biggest obstacle to lasting peace.

Lozada called on the government to investigate and dismantle paramilitary groups. Endi