"The search for total peace, that is our commitment and that is what we are going to play for," said Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán.  | Photo: Twitter/@WRadioColombia

Bogota, October 29 (RHC)-- Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán said Spain and Chile would accompany the peace process with the National Liberation Army (ELN).  Leyva's comments were made at the III Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) held this week in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Leyva announced at the end of the meeting: "I have in front of me the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs. I want to answer a question about your participation in the Colombian peace process: You are, and I tell you officially, an accompanying country (...) Chile is morally and officially an accompanying country."

The Colombian foreign minister recognized Cuba's role in the search for peace in Colombia.  Leyva thanked the Caribbean nation for facilitating its territory to set up the negotiating table and said Cuba would serve as a facilitator for the discussions.   According to the minister, lasting peace in Colombia beyond its borders is a conviction set in President Gustavo Petro's agenda.

Spain and Chile will accompany the peace process in Colombia, according to Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán.   Earlier this week, the Colombian Senate approved Law 181 or Total Peace Law with 62 votes in favor.  The law defines the national government's policy to establish the basis for negotiation and judicial submission of armed and irregular groups in the country.

Petro proposed a total peace agreement since his inauguration on August 7. "The search for total peace, that is our commitment and that is what we are going to play for," Leyva said.