| Welcoming the government's ceasefire announcement, Maoist chief Prachanda agreed to sit for a dialogue with the new interim government. |
| In a statement, Prachanda said the rebels were ready to hold a dialogue with the seven-party alliance (SPA) government. "We welcome the offer for talks (by the government) as a positive step towards the people's desire to establish 'loktantra' (democracy), peace and progress," he said. |
| Earlier in the day, Minister for Housing and Physical Planning Gopalman Shrestha said the government was willing to release Maoist leaders from jail if the rebels agreed to a dialogue. He said that after getting a response from the rebels, the next Cabinet meeting would decide about releasing the jailed Maoists. |
| Prachanda, in his statement, said his party was ready to initiate a fresh dialogue with the government on the basis of the 12-point agreement reached between the Maoists and the SPA. |
| "Our party expresses commitment to help the nation enter into a republican era through peace process as per the spirit of the 12-point understanding and the historic people's movement," the Maoist leader said. |
| "We welcome it (the government's ceasefire announcement and removal of terrorist tag from Maosits) as a positive move," Prachanda said. "We believe that the talks this time will not be unsuccessful like the two previous ones." |
| Peace talks between the government and Maoists in 2001 and 2003 broke down after several months. |
| The Maoist chief said the rebels had proposed a code of conduct for the peace talks and "hope the government will sincerely implement it." |
| "We are entering into a dialogue process, feeling deep responsibility for people's aspirations towards democracy and peace," he said. |
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