A ceasefire announced over the weekend by Colombian President Gustavo Petro is a proposal to be discussed at peace negotiations and is not in force, the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group said on Tuesday.
Petro, himself a former guerrilla, has pledged to end the Andean nation's six-decade internal conflict, which has left at least 450,000 dead. His government held a first round of peace talks with the ELN in December.
"The negotiations delegation of the ELN has not discussed with the government of Gustavo Petro any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire, so there exists no agreement on that issue," the ELN said in a statement posted on its website. "Once we finish it is predicted we will be available to discuss the bilateral ceasefire proposal, to examine the terms to make a deal possible," the rebels added.
The government said over the weekend that it would issue a decree for each armed group with specific conditions for the ceasefire and that the ceasefire would be verified by the United Nations, among others.
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