The Philippine government announced a cease-fire deal with a Muslim separatist group Friday, agreeing to drop arrest warrants against its leaders for alleged terrorism to pave the way for peace talks as early as next week. The deal was reached with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has been fighting for an independent Muslim territory in Mindanao and other islands of the southern Philippines for more than three decades. "Today the peace panels of our government and the MILF have agreed on a mutual cessation of hostilities," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement. "I call on the panels to immediately enter in formal talks towards a final peace agreement," she said. Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said earlier that negotiations with the freedom fighters could reopen in Malaysia next week. Arroyo thanked Malaysia, which has helped arrange the talks, and the United States in advancing the peace process. Ople said he expects the United States, through the Washington-based Institute for Peace, to support Malaysia in facilitating the talks. He said the U.S. Congress has allocated 30 US million dollars for financial and diplomatic support to the peace process. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Hashim Salamat, chairman of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). (AFP/File)