Havana, December 3 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Negotiators for the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) resumed contact Tuesday in Havana to discuss how to reestablish the peace talks.

Negotiations were suspended on November 16th, shortly after General Ruben Dario Alzate was taken and held by a unit of the rebel group. Alzate and his companions were freed on Sunday.

The meeting, the first time the two sides have met to discuss how to continue since the release, was held in private and lasted for three hours. Sources say that participants included government chief negotiator Humberto De la Calle, the high commissioner for peace, Sergio Jaramillo, and two retired generals, Jorge Humberto Mora and Oscar Naranjo.

The FARC indicated Monday that it would not allow the Colombian government to impose a date to restart the peace talks after having suspended them, saying it would now be necessary to “reset the rules of the game.”

However, President Juan Manuel Santos said he was hopeful that the talks would begin again “before the end of the year.” Santos has maintained, however, that his government will not agree to a bilateral cease-fire.

Alzate was the highest-ranking military official detained by the rebels in more than 50 years of armed conflict. The incident immediately caused a crisis in the peace talks taking place in Cuba, which had been ongoing for two years. The general resigned amid the mysterious circumstances of his detention.