Colombian rebels hopeful of dialogue with gov't

Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group on Friday said it was hopeful that peace talks with the government would be successful.

"We hope to provide good news about the dialogue with the government," the rebels posted via Twitter in the lead up to a meeting here with representatives of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Later, ELN Ranpal, the group's official radio station, reported "there was a meeting between several government delegates and several ELN delegates to coordinate future meetings."

Talks are to "get going tomorrow," Ranpal said on Twitter.

The peace initiative follows Santos' recent signing of a definitive peace deal with the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to end five decades of civil war.

source; xinhua