Prague - Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo said Monday that he hopes for a peace deal between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels in the country's south by the end of the year.

"I am an optimist," he said after meeting his Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg in Prague. "After we overcome administrative difficulties, we'll have peace."

Romulo said that the rebels were also tired of fighting and there was "a mutual desire" for a solution to the conflict lasting for decades.