Colombian peace negotiators missed their deadline to sign a final accord to end Latin America’s longest-running war on Wednesday but said they would continue talks to settle critical issues that still stand in the way of a peace deal.
“At the moment there are still important differences with the Farc,” Humberto de la Calle, the government’s chief negotiator, said in Havana, where talks have been held between the Colombian government and leftist rebels since 2012.
The two sides had set 23 March as the deadline for a final peace agreement but recently tamped down expectations as they failed to agree on key issues of how and where the rebels will demobilise and disarm, and how to guarantee the security of demobilised fighters as they move from an insurgent army to a political organisation.
De la Calle said the government was seeking a “good accord” that would include a disarmament “with a set timetable [and] with no grey areas”.
The Farc’s head negotiator, who goes by the pseudonym Iván Márquez, said in a separate statement that the rebel negotiators had proposed a “roadmap” to finalise an agreement and reiterated the guerrillas’ commitment to see the talks through.
“Our commitment and desire for peace grow,” he said.
But negotiators are still far apart on deciding a timetable on demobilisation and disarming.
The two sides tries to play down the missed deadline. A source close to the government negotiating team told the Guardian that while the peace talks were not in crisis, “this is a tough moment”.
The source added that the government was looking for a “clear commitment” from the Farc that they would disarm. “They need to step forward and say we’re ready to put these guns aside. They need to be explicit,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Farc are wary of laying down their weapons, fearing a resurgence of anti-leftist violence like the murder of some 3,000 members of the Union Patriotica political movement created during a previous failed peace attempt in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Earlier this week during Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba, both sides in the negotiations met with John Kerry, the US secretary of state, who urged negotiators to “redouble their efforts” to reach an agreement.
The Farc have welcomed the high-level US interest in the outcome of the talks, and sources close to the Colombian government described Kerry’s meeting as “extremely important at a moment when the talks needed support”.
The United States has expressed support for the Colombia peace talks and Obama has asked Congress to support post-conflict efforts with $450m in US aid, which would include funds for removing landmines and security for former Farc members once they lay down their weapons.
