MANILA - Peace panels of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Wednesday moved closer to reviving peace talks after the two sides agreed to create an International Contact Group (ICG) that would mediate the talks.

Avelino Razon, government's chief peace negotiator, said both peace panels agreed to create the group which would be composed of interested countries and international nongovernment organizations.

Razon said the ICG will help the peace panels in "building consensus that will effectively enable them to exert proper leverage and to sustain the interest of both the GRP and MILF so as to maintain a level of comfort aimed at restoring mutual trust."

"I am overwhelmed by this latest development. I am sure the Filipino people - both Christians and Muslims - will be delighted to hear that the armed conflict in southern Philippines will be a thing of the past," he said in a statement.

The creation of an ICG came weeks after the bloody ambush by MILF fighters that left more than 20 Philippine soldiers dead in Basilan. The ambush was carried out as government troopers were raiding a main training camp of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group in Basilan province.

The MILF has also been accused by the military in the past of providing support for al-Qaeda linked group Jemaah Islamiyah, Southeast Asia's feared terrorist group.

Razon had said that the most recent altercation between MILF and government soldiers did not in any way affect the ongoing peace talks.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday flew to Turkey to meet with Ekmeleddin Inhasnoglu, the Turkish secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Countries.

Mrs. Arroyo said she will discuss with Inhasnoglu the OIC’s possible contribution to the Mindanao peace process.

She will also meet with leaders in United Kingdom to seek support for the Philippine government’s peace effort.