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Colombian gov't, ELN begin peace talks

Xinhua, February 8, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group on Tuesday officially began talks aimed at ending five decades of fighting.

"After three years of secret meetings and several months of delays, delegates of the government of (Colombian President) Juan Manuel Santos and the National Liberation Army installed the negotiating table," the Caracol News network reported.

"Here we are, willing to find a political solution to the conflict," said the ELN's head negotiator Pablo Beltran.

The hour and a half ceremony, held at a center located 30 km from Quito, Ecuador, was also attended by representatives of countries backing the peace talks, including Norway, Chile, Cuba, Brazil and Venezuela, with about 150 guests and some 60 international and national media outlets.

The talks are buoyed by the fact that Santos' government recently concluded a peace deal with the country's largest rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is now in the process of laying down arms. Endi