Colombia's FARC militants freed a soldier captured during an attack on a military patrol last week, the group said whilst announcing a ceasefire on Friday.

"The soldier Carlos Becerra Ojeda has been liberated today by the guerrillas of the Jacobo Arenas column of the FARC," the group said in a statement.

The soldier was released to a delegation  that comprised of members of the International Red Cross, and representatives from the Colombian, Cuban and Norwegian governments.

The ceasefire, which commenced on Friday, is conditional upon confirmation by an impartial international entity, and will end if the FARC come under attack by government troops, the militants said.

The Colombian government has said it will not agree to such confirmation until later in the peace talks, and responded vaguely to FARC's demand that the army not attack, reports Reuters.

In a statement made on Thursday, FARC said 2015 would be "definitive for peace amid progress in negotiations with the government.

The FARC was formed in 1964, from a movement demanding greater land reform in southern Colombia. The government and FARC militants have been in negotiation for almost 2 years and have reached agreements on 3 of the 5 main topics for negotiation: cooperation in eradicating the illicit drugs trade, agricultural reform and the legal participation of FARC militants in politics once a comprehensive agreement is reached.

The two remaining topics to be discussed are reparations for war victims and the mechanics of ending the conflict. The FARC militants have remained adamant that they should not have to disarm.

FARC declares indefinite unilateral ceasefire (17 Dec 2014)

Peace talks in Colombia resume after released general resigns (03 Dec 2014)

FARC militants send in top commanders for Colombia talks (25 Oct 2014)