The Colombian government is ready for direct contact with the rebel group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a statement issued by President Alvaro Uribe's office said Friday.

The government is prepared to engage in talks with the FARC without brokers, the presidential statement said.

Uribe, reelected last year, had promised to reduce the nation's violence during his election campaign.

The FARC, the largest Colombian guerrilla group, has been fighting the government since the mid-1960s. Reports say the group has some 20,000 fighters.

According to earlier reports, the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the second largest rebel group after the FARC, will meet in the Cuban capital Havana at the end of February for a new round of peace talks. The ELN-government peace talks were launched four years ago.

Source: Xinhua