Colombian president attempts to salvage peace deal defeated in vote

BOGOTA: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos opened a new national dialogue to seek peace with FARC rebels as both sides scrambled to revive a peace deal to end

BOGOTA: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos opened a new national dialogue to seek peace with FARC rebels as both sides scrambled to revive a peace deal to end the half-century conflict. In a televised address a day after voters rejected the agreement in a referendum, Santos said he had asked the government’s chief negotiator Humberto de la Calle to “begin discussions as soon as possible addressing all the necessary issues to have an agreement and realize the dream of every Colombian to end the war with the FARC.” De la Calle had earlier offered his resignation, saying he did not want to be “an obstacle to what comes next.” Santos had staked his legacy on ending the 52-year-old conflict.

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