Jakarta – United States President George W. Bush welcomed on Thursday a decision by the Indonesian government and Aceh separatist rebels to hold weekend talks in Tokyo in a last-ditch effort to save their peace pact.

"The United States strongly supports efforts to pursue a negotiated peace in Aceh within the framework of a unified Indonesia," Bush said in a statement released by the White House. "I commend [Indonesian] President Megawati [Soekarnoputri] for demonstrating her government's commitment to the Aceh peace process and for her willingness to go the extra mile in pursuit of peace."

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) said their exiled top leader, Hasan Tiro, would leave Sweden for Tokyo to monitor the talks but would not attend the meeting, AFP reported.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri delayed on Thursday the imposition of martial law in Aceh, which would allow the military to launch an operation to crack down on the rebels, to give GAM another chance to return to the negotiating table in Tokyo.

The government had set a May 12 deadline for the rebels to resume talks under the preconditions of their acceptance of the unitary state of Indonesia and disarmament. GAM said it would accept dialog only after the deadline passed.

Indonesian officials said preparations for a military operation in the natural resource-rich province, which would involve between 40,000 and 50,000 troops, would continue. It would be the largest deployment of troops ever in Indonesia's history.

"I call on the leadership of GAM to renew its commitment to a peaceful solution in Aceh and for both sides to pursue good faith implementation of the December 2002 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement," Bush said, referring to the peace agreement signed by Jakarta and GAM on December 9 last year in Geneva.

International donors grouped in the Tokyo Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh have kept up the pressure on both Indonesia and GAM to avert a breakdown of the peace process in the province.

The group, comprising the European Union, Japan, the US and the World Bank, called for the continuing commitment of Jakarta to solve the question of Aceh through dialog.

"We call on the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement to make every possible effort to revive dialog and restore peace. To that end, we call on the two sides to hold a Joint Council meeting, as provided under the terms of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, or an informal session to prepare for a Joint Council meeting, in Tokyo as soon as possible," the donors said in a statement on Wednesday.

The donors hope the two sides at the meeting reach a consensus to revive the agreement and return Aceh to a state of peace based on special autonomy. The donors added that they remain willing to continue to support the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and to provide assistance for the future reconstruction of Aceh if peace prevails.