The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said it is ready to make a swap of hostages for rebel prisoners, the organization Colombians for Peace said Sunday.

"We are ready for exchanging war prisoners and not making the dialogue an unsurpassable obstacle," FARC said in a letter sent to Colombians for Peace.

Colombians for Peace is a group led by opposition senator Piedad Cordoba, who helped broker the release of politicians Alan Jara and Sigifredo Lopez in February.

"We are analyzing the proposals from senator Piedad Cordoba leaded to energize the path to the peace with social justice," the FARC said.

"We have consulted all our political-military structures and we can report that to date only nine are being held (for ransom) under the FARC's responsibility," the statement said.

The FARC promised that when conditions are favorable they would deliver proof of life for 22 captured soldiers and reveal the location of the remains of army major Ernesto Guevara, who died in captivity.

The FARC considered necessary the presence of the international community in the dialogue and also asked for "effective guarantees" for three FARC leaders chosen to negotiate the swap --Pablo Catatumbo, Carlos Antonio Lozada and Fabian Ramirez.

The FARC's statement came one day after President Alvaro Uribe rejected a political dialogue with the group, accusing it of launching an offensive to mark the first anniversary of the death of its founder, Manuel Marulanda.

The group had demanded demilitarizing an area in the southeast as a condition for negotiating a swap of hostages for captured rebels.

The FARC held many hostages who it considered "exchangeable" for its members imprisoned inside and outside Colombia. It is also estimated that at least 700 civilians are kept as hostages for other reasons.

Source:Xinhua