Cuban FM receives delegation from the government of Colombia

HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 12 (ACN) Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla received a delegation from the Colombian government that traveled to Havana to begin talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN by its Spanish acronym), with the aim of resuming peace dialogues.

Rodriguez Parrilla wrote on Twitter about the reception of the delegation, presided over by his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Leyva, and composed of Danilo Rueda, High Commissioner for Peace, and Senator Ivan Cepeda, president of the Peace Commission of the Colombian Senate.

For his part, the Colombian foreign minister expressed that total peace is not only national, but goes beyond borders, and that for more than 40 years Cuba has welcomed in its territory delegations and compatriots interested in peace, besides being the guarantor of meetings between the government and the guerrillas.

He was also bearer of messages of solidarity towards the Cuban people and authorities for the fire at the supertanker base in Matanzas.

The Cuban diplomat stressed that this visit is taking place four days before Petro's swearing-in as new president, and reiterated the willingness to help in every possible way for the successful development of the talks, as an expression also of the strong cultural and historical ties between the two countries.

He expressed his gratitude for Colombia's refusal to consider Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, while pointing out that the costs and consequences for the Cuban people of such unfounded qualification, which served as a pretext to halt the talks years ago, are incalculable.

According to official sources, the objective of this trip is to resume peace negotiations with the ELN, initiated in 2017, with the government of Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018), in Ecuador and then transferred to Havana, which were stalled during the administration of Ivan Duque (2018-2022).