Santos created a high-level commission to start a new peace dialogue, which included Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin, Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas and a former negotiator with FARC on behalf of the government Humberto de la Calle.
“The country needs unity, we must leave behind quarrels, hatred and polarization that are causing us so much harm,” Santos said on Monday as quoted by El Heraldo newspaper.
Late on Sunday, Colombia's National Election Council said the peace agreement between the government and FARC rebel movement, signed in September, failed to garner the support of the majority of Colombian voters at a referendum, with 50.22 percent opposed to the deal and 49.78 in favour.
Colombia was mired in a half-century war between the FARC and the Colombian government, which has claimed lives of a quarter of a million people. The two parties began peace talks in November 2012 and signed a historic ceasefire agreement in Cuba on August 24. The sides signed a peace deal in late September.
