The Colombian government and the leftist rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reached key agreement on land reforms Sunday as they seek to hammer out a broad peace agreement at talks in Cuba, dpa reported.
The agricultural reform is the first of five points that must be agreed in a peace deal and was seen a positive sign for the success of the broader talks, which are to resume June 11 with discussion of the political future of the rebels.
Despite the progress, differences were apparent immediately after the sides released a joint statement. The head of the FARC delegation, Luciano Marin, referred to "exceptions" in the agreement that must be addressed before the end of the talks, while the government stressed the agreement is only final after all points are agreed upon.
Peace talks were formally launched in mid-October in Oslo, and they were permanently moved to Havana in mid-November. The government of Juan Manuel Santos hopes to complete the talks by the end of the year.
An agreement would resolve the nearly 50-year conflict in the South American nation, which saw four people killed last week in a FARC attack on a vehicle carrying a regional immigration official in northern Colombia.