HAVANA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group reiterated their willingness here on Thursday to continue the peace process with Colombia's incoming government.
During a press conference in Havana, Pablo Beltran, the ELN's head negotiator, said most Colombians wanted the talks and the rebels were willing to take part in a seventh round with the new administration of conservative president-elect Ivan Duque.
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in November 2016, will conclude his term on Aug. 7.
While talks so far between the Santos administration and the ELN have not led to a bilateral ceasefire, both sides agree important progress was made.
Aureliano Carbonell, head of a civil society group in the peace talks, said during the sixth round, which concluded on Wednesday, the two sides agreed to include the opinions of ordinary people in the debate.
The process aims to ensure that the people's voice is heard when it comes to issues of democracy, the peace process and the treatment of victims of the conflict, which had lasted more than half a century.
