(VOVworld) – The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced Monday in Caracas that they will begin a new public phase of peace talks.

Colombian President  Juan Manuel Santos in a press conference in Bogota on October 4 (Photo: EPA/VNA)

In a joint communiqué, Mauricio Rodriguez and Pablo Beltran, the heads of the negotiating teams for the Colombian government and the ELN, said the bilateral peace talks will begin in Quito, Ecuador, on October 27, adding that the ELN will free 2 hostages. Ecuador, Cuba, Norway, Chile, and Brazil will participate in the talks as mediators.

The same day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon talked by phone with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of FARC. He urged both sides stay the course despite a rejection of the peace treaty by a referendum on October 2. He said he believes in the deal after 4 years of negotiations in Havana.