Colombia's FARC rebels on Tuesday denied peace talks with the government had been put in "limbo" by the country's presidential vote, which largely hinges on how to handle the Marxist rebels.
Incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos, who has staked his political future on the bid to end Latin America's longest insurgency, came second in Sunday's first round vote.
His rival Oscar Zuluaga, a fierce critic of the peace talks that have gone on for 18 months in Cuba, finished first on Sunday with 29.3 percent of the vote to 25.7 percent for Santos, forcing a June 15 run-off.
"In limbo? That is not our impression," the head negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Ivan Marquez, said in Cuba as the guerrilla group marked the 50th anniversary of its founding.
Santos said he wanted to see the talks — begun in November 2012 — move forward more quickly.
"What I want is to finish this process as soon as possible to put an end to the war," Santos told Bogota's Radio W.
Despite partial agreement on certain issues like the FARC's return to political life, a comprehensive peace has so far eluded negotiators.
The two sides have yet to reach a deal on two major issues: reparations for victims of a conflict that has left more than 220,000 people dead and five million displaced, and an end to hostilities.
Santos said he would consider dividing his negotiating team in order to move forward on outstanding issues at the same time, noting: "I hope we can resolve these two questions quickly and enter into the post-conflict period."
In Havana, Marquez refused to comment on Zuluaga's demand for a ceasefire in order for peace talks to continue, saying only: "No one know who the next president will be."
In a 30-minute video posted on the Internet, FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez, alias "Timochenko," warned the rebels "will do what's necessary if the oligarchy persists in blocking peace."
"We are in Havana because we dream of an effective peace," said Timochenko, dressed in uniform and standing in a forested area.
But he struck a defiant tone in his videotaped message, which was carried in its entirety on the FARC's website (www.farc-ep.co).
"We were born as a consequence of the total war declared on us by the Colombian oligarchy and the White House," he said.
Timochenko noted that while Santos accuses the opposition of seeking to "assassinate the Colombian peoples' hopes for peace," the Colombian president has rejected repeated rebel calls for a ceasefire.
"National reconciliation must pass through the dismantling of political hatreds and annihilation implemented from the highest positions of the state," Timochenko said.
Peace talks have been halted during Colombia's elections and no date has been set for their resumption.
