Commonwealth leaders meeting in Antigua said the UK has signed up to “structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith” talks addressing the “historical harms” of the transatlantic slave trade.

The paragraph appears in the summit’s 18-page final communiqué, in which leaders “welcome the agreement of the Government of the United Kingdom” to join the dialogue. Prime Minister Andy Burnham opened the door to a formal apology on behalf of the UK, while ruling out direct reparations. The timeframe for the talks will be agreed at a later date, though Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has suggested they are likely to conclude in around a year.