The Colombian government highlighted the supposed sincerity in the meeting with the ELN

The representative of the government stated in statements to the press at the end of the meeting that after five days of work, confidence, optimism and belief that govern the dialogue table such as goodwill and the fact that agreements must be achieved have increased.

He commented that in times when the Round Table is not active, it can be weakened and misunderstandings appear that can undermine trust, but in these days of dialogue, they have been able to fully restore and strengthen it.

Patiño stressed that the path of discussing issues in the second round of talks, which begins on February 13, can be pursued with greater calmness and “more confidence and optimism.”

And he acknowledged that there were difficult moments during this meeting, especially because of the events that generated the so-called crisis due to the differences in approach, and he stressed that it was thanks to the frankness that the analyzes followed in this situation of momentary incomprehension. The table is “absolutely overpowered and strengthened”.

Referring to the cease-fire issue, which was the beginning of the problem, he said that it is still on the table as an issue of the first degree.

He indicated that we believe that it is a thousand times better to advance the negotiations where a de-escalation of the conflict has been reached and to do so in the midst of a ceasefire.

He added that this is something shared by both delegations, and therefore it should not be done automatically or entirely, although in any case it must be worked on and procedures put in place so that this de-escalation takes place as a political discussion of the schedule.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the two sides expressed their appreciation for the frankness and depth of the discussion process of the extraordinary meeting held in Venezuela to resolve the differences.

They also agreed to maintain communication mechanisms during periods when the dialogue table does not meet, and announced the start of the second round of negotiations on February 13 in Mexico.

In that meeting, the issue of community participation in peacebuilding in the New Granada State will be addressed, and at the same time, a bilateral ceasefire will be discussed and agreed upon.

In addition, he referred to the text read out by the representative of the Mexican State for a joint examination of the achievements and difficulties in implementing the agreements reached at the first session.

rgh/jcd