Havana, March 6 (teleSUR-RHC)-- A group of senior Colombian military commanders arrived in Havana on Thursday to join peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas to set the conditions for a bilateral cease-fire while negotiations to end the 50-year armed conflict continue. Latin America’s oldest conflict has killed over 220,000 people and displaced millions.

A total of five generals and an admiral will continue talks with the FARC until Saturday. The military officials join the government team headed by General Javier Florez in a subcommittee created last August to discuss the end of hostilities, the last point on the agenda of the peace process.

President Juan Manuel Santos had long resisted FARC calls for a bilateral cease-fire despite efforts by the guerrillas to show good will by unilaterally enacting a truce. A government spokesman described the encounter as “historic,” as it marks the first time active senior military commanders have join talks with the rebels.

According to the government the goal is to maintain any cease-fire until a comprehensive peace agreement ends the war definitively.

So far, partial agreements have been reached on three of the five agenda points at the talks, including land reform, an end to the illegal drugs trade and political participation for the left-wing guerrillas. Discussions on reparations for victims, as well as the demobilization of combatants, are ongoing and remain unresolved.