MANILA (Reuters) - A deal to end four decades of armed conflict with Islamic rebels in the southern Philippines may be forged in the next two years, the chief negotiator of the country's largest Muslim group said on Tuesday ahead of peace talks to be held later this month in Kuala Lumpur.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) seeks a "state within a state" in southern Mindano as a condition for ending the fighting, an idea President Benigno Aquino may try and meld with his own proposal for more autonomy at peace talks set in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 22, Mohagher Iqbal said.
"It depends on his political will," Iqbal said in an interview at Reuters Manila office, when asked about the possibility of a breakthrough at the talks.
"He has enough political capital and I think it can be done. There is no reason why the government cannot grant that because we are not seceding from the government."
The MILF and government have been negotiating for more than a decade to end a conflict that dates back to the 1960s and has killed 120,000 people and displaced 2 million in poor but resource-rich southern areas.
Marvic Leonen, the government's chief negotiator, said Manila was ready to present its proposal to the rebels, but declined to comment on the rebels' position to suspend awarding of mining and oil and gas exploration contracts.
"I cannot make any comment because the MILF has yet to formalise that position," Leonen told Reuters, adding he felt the MILF was sincere in seeking an end to the conflict.
Jose Layug, Energy department undersecretary, has said the government would not meet another rebel demand to suspend planned tenders of 15 oil and gas exploration contracts estimated to be worth at least $7.5 billion because it has the mandate to develop oil resources.
Aquino, the son of democracy heroine Cory Aquino, won the presidency in 2010 on a campaign to root out corruption and speed up economic reforms.
He is also pursuing separately a peace pact with Maoist rebels in the Philippines, hoping to forge deals within the first half of his single six-year term ending in June 2016.
(Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Ed Lane)
