Singapore – Peace talks with separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province will continue if the guerrillas stick to the agenda of special autonomy, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Tuesday.

Any solution must be based on this concept and not independence, said Susilo, noting that even the United Nations has expressed support for Indonesia's territorial integrity.

Susilo was speaking to reporters on the first day of a two-day state visit to Singapore. The former general had arrived from Malaysia, the first leg of his first regional tour since being elected president last year.

Negotiators from the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) met in Helsinki last month for informal talks amid pressure to end the 29-year-long conflict after a tsunami devastated the province on December 26.

It was the first time the two parties met face-to-face since May 2003, when the government declared martial law and launched a major military offensive in the province after a ceasefire broke down.

The second round of talks is scheduled to be held in Helsinki from February 21 and will be mediated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who also chaired the January talks.

Led by leaders living in Sweden and holding Swedish citizenships, GAM has been fighting for independence for oil-rich Aceh province on Sumatra island since 1976. It says the Indonesian government plunders its resources and troops commit atrocities against the local population.

But since the Indian Ocean tsunami ravaged Aceh, the rebels and the government have come under international pressure to end the conflict. More than 234,000 people are dead or missing and some 400,000 were left homeless in the province.