"I have given instructions to the negotiators to initiate as soon as possible a discussion on the point of the definitive bilateral ceasefire and end of hostilities," Santos was quoted as saying by local media.
The president added that the government already appointed officials to lead the negotiations.
On Wednesday, FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, confirmed that eight state troop soldiers were killed in recent clashes, after government forces launched an attack on rebels. The guerrillas said that the deaths could have not taken place if the government chose a more rational stance and engaged in truce talks.
Previously, the government was reluctant to engage in peace talks with rebels amid fears the group could take advantage of the pause to rearm, as it did during a ceasefire between 1998 and 2002.
Colombia’s government has been engaged in talks with FARC, the largest rebel group in the country, since 2012 in an attempt to put an end to a standoff that dates back to in 1964. It is estimated that about 220,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the decades-long armed conflict.
FARC is considered a terrorist group by the Colombian government, as well as the United States, Canada, Chile, New Zealand and the European Union. FARC guerrillas are reportedly engaged in bombings, kidnapping, extortion, murders, drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
