Stockholm – East Timor's new president, former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao, on Monday urged Aceh separatists fighting for independence from Indonesia to follow East Timor's example and pursue a peaceful solution.

"We understand the demands of the Acehnese people, but we respect the sovereignty of Indonesia," Gusmao told a news conference in Stockholm, where he was taking part in an international summit on reconciliation.

Aceh province, which accounts for one-fifth of Indonesia's oil and gas exports, is home to four million people.

Indonesian officials and rebels are due to meet in Switzerland on April 27-28 for the latest round of peace talks aimed at ending the decades-long conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

"All we can say is we hope the problems there can be solved peacefully by dialogue," said Gusmao, who won a landslide victory in East Timor's first presidential election earlier this month.

East Timor was invaded and taken over by Indonesia in 1975, but in 1999 its people overwhelmingly voted for independence. The country will officially become an independent state on May 20, when the United Nations hands over administration to the new government.

Gusmao, who spent seven years in a Jakarta prison for guerrilla action, said he did not plan to meet representatives of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) during his visit in Sweden. The GAM's exile government is based in Stockholm.