Exploratory conversations with the Farc

President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia said on monday that his government had held “exploratory conversations” with the country’s largest rebel group, aimed at ending a nearly five decade old conflict.

In a brief televised appearance, Mr. Santos said the details of the talks with the rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, would be made public in the coming days.

The group, which has long financed its operations through narcotics trafficking and kidnapping for ransom, is considered a terrorist organization by Colombia and the United States.

The war with the Farc has bedeviled several Colombian presidents. 

In the last effort to hold talks, in the late 1.990s, President Andrés Pastrana gave the Farc a large safe haven in the jungle of southern Colombia during talks that lasted for several years. 

But the group used the territory to train troops and continue its drug trafficking. 

The talks ended in bitter failure.

Mr. Santos vowed on monday “not to repeat” earlier errors, and said that during these talks, the Colombian military would keep a presence in “every centimeter of national territory.”

He said that talks might also be conducted with a second rebel group, the National Liberation Army or E.L.N.

The Farc has been weakened over the last decade, with the help of United States military support to the Colombian government. 

Last november, the Farc’s top leader, Alfonso Cano, was killed in a government operation.

But the group remains active and has been responsible for many bombings and deadly attacks on government forces this year.

Military analysts estimate that the group has about 9,000 fighters, down from a peak of 17,000 in the 1990s. 

Ariel Avila, an analyst who studies the Farc, said that there were reasons to be optimistic about talks this time around. 

He said that during the Pastrana talks, both the Farc and the Colombian military were trying to strengthen their positions rather than finding a way out of the conflict. 

Now, he said, there is a real desire on both sides to reach an agreement.

Public opinion strongly favors a peace deal. “the populations affected by the conflict are literally tired of the conflict,” Mr. Avila said.