Manila: Peace talks between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be held on February 18 and 19, the government's chief negotiator said on Saturday.
Annabelle Abaya, chairperson of the government panel negotiating with the MILF, disclosed that dele-gates from the opposing panels have "decided to resume [parleys] in two weeks after the MILF negotiators have consulted their principals and stakeholders."
The negotiators met in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to compare drafts on a comprehensive agreement that will not only put an end to the nearly three decades of fighting between the MILF and government forces, but will also address the fundamental causes of the conflict.
"Both camps just exchanged our respective expectations and we will continue discussing based on what both camps can offer," Abaya said.
After Wednesday's meeting, a report by the MILF's Luwaran website quoted Mohager Iqbal — Abaya's counterpart in the MILF peace panel — that the government had not offered anything new in the draft peace agreement that it had submitted.
The government "draft essentially offers the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao", he said.
