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Venezuela 's Foreign Ministry has ratified to the Colombian people its inalienable commitment to peace in their sister republic.
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The administration of President Nicolas Maduro said it regretted the lack of commitment to peace and mutual understanding by Ivan Duque's government in Colombia.
“The announcements from Bogota about the peace dialogues with the ELN [National Liberation Army] unjustifiably threaten the continuity and advances of the negotiation process,” reads the ministry's statement.
The Colombian government has refused to appoint new negotiators for the peace process until the ELN agrees to a series of demands, including the release of hostages and suspending all military activity.
Having no negotiators, the government failed to present a team to continue the peace talks in Havana on September 20.
The ELN had previously released nine soldiers it was holding as part of the group's effort to restore peace talks with the Colombian state under the new government.
They said they considered the government's conditions "unacceptable," but would release the soldiers anyway.
In the statement, Venezuela also highlighted its past efforts towards promoting peace in Colombia, and reaffirmed its commitment for the future.
“History has shown that without the direct and even personal participation of Presidents Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro,” reads the statement. “The partial goals and advancements in the peace dialogues would have never been reached.”
Venezuela also wished an end to the “vicious interests of war and violence that for decades have caused so much pain on our Colombian brothers and sisters.”
After having signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016, the ELN became the largest active guerrilla group in the South American country.
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