Colombia's Santos to Propose Bilateral Cease-Fire with FARC

​Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced Friday that his government will convene extraordinary parlimentary sessions in order to move forward with a bilateral cease-fire between government security forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

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The Colombian president praised the ongoing negotiations describing them as a “successful model for peace,” and said the agreement would also move forward with the disarmament of the rebels.

Santos issued his remarks following the second day of meetings in Cartagena, Colombia where representatives from the government and FARC officials are meeting to discuss the details of the final peace deal, scheduled to be signed on March 23.

However, during his address Santos expressed hope that a deal would be reached before the proposed deadline.

The government and the FARC will meet again Jan. 12 to begin the next round of peace talks after a short break over the holidays.

IN DEPTH: The Colombian Peace Process Explained

​The FARC have repeatedly called on the Colombian government to implement a bilateral cease-fire to further de-escalate the conflict—something Santos has refused to do.

Negotiations have been ongoing since late 2012 and the expectations were that a final deal was at hand when the head of the FARC, Timoleon Jimenez, also known as Timochenko, met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in Cuba for a special ceremony to commemorate an agreement regarding transitional justice.

In December, 2015 the government and the FARC announced that a partial deal regarding the rights of victims had been signed, leaving only the discussion regarding the formal end of the conflict.

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