We granted a suspension to talk with administration officials, but lifting the strike depends on the agreements we reach.

The government is not defending the people in the provinces. Neither this government nor previous ones have helped us negotiate with the companies.

[The protests] are suspended momentarily while we engaged in a dialogue. But either we will have results from the talks or we will return to the previous measures.

The thing is that war is the opposite of negotiation. It's when you cannot negotiate, when you cannot talk, when you cannot reach agreements that then you have war.

We are here today with technical experts to answer any unanswered questions, with an eye to lifting the suspension and resuming trade.

both sides are trying here to display their goodwill to reach agreements about the problems, and I'm hopeful that this effort will indeed be crowned with success.