CRI听力:Colombian Rebels Ready to Free Captured General

Colombia's FARC rebels say they have plans to release a general, whose kidnapping earlier this month has prompted the government to suspend peace talks with the rebel group.

General Ruben Alzate is the highest-ranking Columbian military official ever taken by the rebel group.

He was captured by the rebels earlier this month, along with four others.

The statement from FARC has come on the same day the rebels freed two other captured soldiers, which the government has been demanding as a first step toward resuming the stalled peace talks.

Rubin Morro is a FARC negotiator.

"We hope the government signs the necessary protocols, we are honoring our side of things, we hope they do too and we think the general will be back home this weekend at the latest."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is on-record saying the peace talks won't be restarted until all the hostages are freed.

The sudden halt in the 2-year-old negotiations is leading to concerns it could derail the broader effort to end the half-century of war between the government and the rebels, which has left more than 200 thousand people dead since it began in 1964.