Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday expressed hope that peace talks with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to resume "in a short period of time."

"There is nothing I would wish more than for peace in (the southern region of) Mindanao. It will really be a blessing for the people of Mindanao both Christians and Muslims to be able to live in peace and harmony at last and to be able to build a new life of prosperity for today's children and the generations to come," the president said in a media interview.

Arroyo said the government's chief negotiator with the MILF Rafael Seguis has informed her that the peace panels from the government and the rebel group are now preparing preliminary matters for the resumption of the talks.

"Hopefully in a short period of time, our peace talks (will resume)," she added.

The MILF is the largest rebel group in the Philippines with more than 11,000 members, which has been fighting decades to establish an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.

Earlier, Seguis said the peace talks will resume as early as this month, adding that the Philippine government was waiting for the go-signal from the Malaysia-led International Monitoring Team.

The Malaysia-brokered talks between Manila and the MILF collapsed last August after the two sides failed to sign a key agreement paving the way for a final peace accord.

Firefight has intensified between government troops and the rebels since then and the ten-month-old clash following the collapse of talks has affected more than 600,000 people in the south.

Source:Xinhua