Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Friday stressed the government's policy to defeat armed rebels by military means.

On the occasion celebrating the 90th anniversary of Bogota's Superior War School, the president said it was not the time to make "speculations on who are a part of the negotiation table" buta "great turn" to defeat illegal armed groups by military forces.

Colombia has been locked in a four-decade civil war, the longest in Latin America, in which government forces, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitarists fight one another. The conflicts kill an average of 3,500 people every year.

Since he took office in August 2002, Uribe has boosted militaryspending and pushed the armed forces to pursue rebels.

However, Uribe did not rule out a final negotiated solution, which he said would be monitored by foreign observers.

But at present stage, he added, military advisers that could provide military help were more important than military observers in the peace process.

Source: Xinhua