QUITO (AFP) -- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said during an interview he was willing to recognize Colombia's Marxist FARC rebels as legitimate combatants if they stop acting like terrorists.

""To attain that status they would have to give up all activities contrary to the rules of war, such as kidnappings, attacks that can qualify as acts of terrorism, bombings, etcetera,"" Correa said in an interview with Venezuelan television.
""We say this categorically, they must give up actions that go against human rights ... and free unconditionally all the hostages they are holding,"" Correa added.
It was the first time Correa spoke about the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia either as a legitimate fighting force -- he used the term ""belligerent force"" -- or as a terrorist group, which is how the United States, Europe and Colombia brand them.
Correa a week ago denied Colombian charges he was too lenient with FARC rebels, and warned that any rebel incursion into Ecuador would be deemed an ""an act of war"" to be dealt with accordingly.
The FARC rebels persistently cross the border into Ecuador. A Colombian military attack March 1 on a FARC rebel camp inside Ecuador triggered a week-long diplomatic row, in which Venezuela took Quito's side.
The FARC, South America's oldest and largest insurgency, are accused of holding an estimated 750 people hostage and funding their activities through drug trafficking.
Ingrid Betancourt is among 39 high-profile hostages whom the FARC rebel group wants to exchange with the government for 500 of their jailed fellow guerillas.
The ex-husband of Betancourt, the Colombian presidential candidate held hostage, called for action, not “speculation” as to her health, Last week.
Fabrice Delloye told that politicians engaged in the fight to free Betancourt and 38 other political detainees were being distracted by varying third-party medical bulletins.
He said conflicting information should not be used to determine the urgency or otherwise of actions aimed at negotiating a release.
Delloye told the crowd outside Paris City Hall that all the hostages were suffering from ill health.
“They are in a bad way because they have been in captivity for a terrifying amount of time,” Delloye said.
“They are suffering from malnutrition, malaria, some from leishmaniasis (a parasitic infection of the skin), for others like Ingrid from hepatitis problems, or amoebic cysts, all of which means their state of health is extremely worrying.
“The aim is to get them out of there, not to speculate as to their condition to see if we need to act or not,” he said.
Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, who has been mediating between the Colombian presidency and FARC through his ties with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said on Friday that Betancourt was “well”.
Cordoba also blamed elements in the Colombian government for blocking an accord on exchanging FARC's hostages for jailed members of the group, saying a recent release of hostages with Chavez's aid showed the group was ""willing to dialogue.""