Obama to host Colombia's Santos for Feb. 4 White House visit

Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama smiles as he holds his end of the year news conference at the White House in Washington December 18, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

HONOLULU (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will host Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos for an "official working visit" in Washington on Feb. 4, the White House said on Tuesday. The visit will provide an opportunity to "support the efforts of President Santos to achieve a just and lasting peace accord with the FARC, and discuss a shared vision for future collaboration in the event of an historic peace agreement," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. In an interview with Reuters in late September, Santos said he believed the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, would stick to their agreement to reach a peace accord within six months. Obama is on vacation in Hawaii and will return to Washington in early January. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Alan Crosby)