HAVANA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin over the weekend to discuss the ongoing peace process between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, official sources said on Monday.
A statement released by the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry said the two spoke in Havana where the peace talks are held about the efforts to declare a ceasefire so as to create an atmosphere of goodwill for the ongoing peace process.
Holguin is participating in the sixth round of talks, along with Colombia's high commissioner for peace, Rodrigo Rivera, and presidential adviser Jose Noe Rios, as well as Senator Ivan Cepeda and former minister Alvaro Leyva, who are acting as mediators.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wants to see concrete progress to be made with the ELN before Columbia ushers in the administration of the incoming president Ivan Duque on Aug. 7.
Santos said last week he was studying an agreement with the ELN in order to deliver "a peace process with solid foundations" to the next government.
The peace talks began in Quito, Ecuador in 2017, but moved to Havana after Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno decided to stop hosting the talks due to stepped-up rebel activities along his country's border with Colombia.
The head of the ELN delegation, Pablo Beltran, has ratified his group's willingness to continue to seek a negotiated solution to the armed conflict.
