Spain will be the accompanying country and not the host in the peace process between the Government of Colombia and the ELN

MADRID, 27 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Spain will finally be the accompanying country in the peace process between the Government of Colombia and the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN), diplomatic sources have confirmed to Europa Press. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, had offered Spain to host the dialogue.

The announcement was made by the Colombian Foreign Minister, Álvaro Leyva, in Buenos Aires during his speech at the ministerial summit of the EU and CELAC after having previously met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the sources have specified.

By virtue of this status, the sources have indicated, Spain "will facilitate the talks" that will take place in Cuba and will accompany the process in everything that is required, taking into account that "the leading role belongs to the main actors."

During his visit to Colombia at the end of August, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, had offered the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, Spain as the venue for negotiations with the ELN. The president then said that it was a decision that the government and the guerrillas should take jointly, but in the end it was decided to maintain the dialogue in Cuba, where a previous phase had already taken place.

In the meeting they held this Thursday in Buenos Aires, Albares once again conveyed to Leyva "Spain's willingness to contribute to achieving peace" in Colombia, according to what he said on his Twitter.

The ELN and the Government of Colombia have decided to return to the path of dialogue to achieve peace. The process was stalled since 2018 with the arrival of Iván Duque to the Colombian Presidency and was finally abandoned after an ELN attack against a Police school in Bogotá in 2019 that left 23 dead and almost a hundred injured.

As part of the rapprochement between the ELN and the government, President Petro ordered the search and arrest warrant withdrawn for the representatives of the guerrilla negotiating delegation in Havana, such as Israel Ramírez Pineda, alias 'Pablo Beltrán', or Víctor Orlando Cubides, alias 'Aurelian Carbonell'.

The negotiations will take place in Cuba while Venezuela will be the guarantor country after Petro expressly requested it and the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, gave his agreement.