Gov't open to peace talks with leftist group: official

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government is open to resume peace negotiations with leftist group, a senior official said today.

"Only if they are time-bound and doable. We have always said that we are open to resuming talks provided that we avoid the mistakes of the past," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said following the statement of Communist Party of the Philippines(CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison that the government appears to be uninterested in resuming negotiations.

He said "friends" of the peace process have continued to help in the hope of restarting the negotiations.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles had expressed hope and faith in achieving more milestones in the peace process in 2015, especially in the peace efforts with CPP.

"We would like to bring this (conflict) to the peace table and push improvement of the situation on the ground. We don't want (the) problem of internal armed conflict to remain a major thing that has to be managed or resolved by the next administration," Deles said.

The leftist rebel group has been waging war against the government for over four decades.