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Moscow stands for peace settlement of Colombia’s armed conflict

Colombian voters on Sunday rejected the peace deal with Farc fighters by a narrow majority of 50.21%

MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Moscow stands for peace settlement of the years-long armed confrontation between the Colombian official authorities and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday in a commentary following Colombia’s Sunday referendum.

"We have taken a note of the October 2 nationwide referendum in Colombia where the opponents of the peace deal between the country’s government and Farc won by a slim majority," the ministry said. "We have taken a note of the statements by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces about their commitment to the ceasefire regime."

"We reiterate our position in favor of peace settlement of the years-long domestic armed conflict in friendly Colombia in the interests of further socio-economic development of that Latin American country," the ministry said.

Colombian voters on Sunday rejected the peace deal with Farc fighters by a narrow majority of 50.21%, or 53,000 votes. About 6.4 million people said ‘no’ to the peace deal whereas 4.5 million votes were needed to recognize the referendum as valid.

More than 200,000 people have been killed in the armed confrontation between the Colombian government and Farc guerillas since 1960s.