MANILA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Peace talks between the Philippine government and the country's biggest Muslim separatist group, scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Malaysia, have been postponed until next month, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said.
She gave no reason for the delay, which was announced on Tuesday as rebel negotiators were preparing to leave for Kuala Lumpur.
"We expect the talks with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) to resume next month in Malaysia," Arroyo said in a national radio address.
The Philippine Star newspaper quoted unnamed officials as saying several issues remained unresolved ahead of the talks, which were expected to focus on an autonomy package for the rebels.
"We were already at the Manila airport and ready to fly to Malaysia when we were told the talks were called off by the government panel," Mohaqher Iqbal, the chief negotiator of the MILF told Reuters.
The MILF said the government was backtracking on its offer to grant Muslims the right of self-determination, accusing three members of Arroyo's Cabinet opposed to the resumption of talks for causing the cancellation of the meeting in Malaysia.
Arroyo said her government would not cease efforts to find ways to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in the south despite an offensive there against the Abu Sayyaf, another separatist group.
Philippine military officials said the postponement was unconnected to fighting on the island of Basilan, where troops are battling the Abu Sayyaf near camps occupied by the MILF.
Talks between the government and the MILF have been stalled since September last year over the size and wealth of a proposed ancestral homeland for 3 million Muslims in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country.
In December, there was a breakthrough when government peace negotiators offered a "new formula", recognising the Muslims' right of self-determination, giving them authority short of independence to govern a Muslim-dominated territory.
But, the peace panels of the two sides have yet to meet to discuss details of the new formula.