"Ahtisaari has met both parties separately now, and discussed with them their expectations for the talks, which will start tomorrow (Friday)," Maria-Elena Cowell, a spokeswoman for Crisis Management Initiative, the former Finnish president's private foundation hosting the talks, told AFP.

She declined however to give further details about the meetings, the first talks between the combatants since a truce broke down 20 months ago.

GAM, whose exiled leadership lives in Sweden, has since 1976 fought for Aceh's independence from Jakarta, which it accuses of siphoning off the province's lucrative natural resources.

Aceh bore the brunt of the tsunami that devastated the countries rimming the Indian Ocean on December 26.

Most of Indonesia's 228,000 dead or missing lived in the province, and after the disaster both the government and the rebels called for a ceasefire to be respected during the ongoing relief operations there.

However fighting continued after the tsunami, with the Indonesian military claiming Sunday to have killed more than 200 rebels before vowing to suspend the campaign.

The Helsinki deliberations are unlikely to go beyond formalizing the month-long cessation of hostilities.

"We have issued a unilateral declaration of ceasefire, so the relief organizations can carry out their work effectively for those in need of help," GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah told AFP earlier.

"What we hope to see now is reciprocity on this from the government ... this is an opportunity, and hopefully it will lead to something else later," he said.

Jakarta has meanwhile stated that it would reject any demand for independence for Aceh, which has lucrative natural resources. "We will consider options such as amnesty or assistance for GAM members who surrender, but one thing we cannot grant: independence," said security ministry spokesman Demak Lubis.

"The economic issues here are major, and that's why the government cannot even think of giving independence to Aceh," Taina Jaervinen, a Finnish scholar specializing in Indonesian human rights and a former EU observer posted to Jakarta, told AFP.

The 10 Indonesian peace negotiators were led by Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin, top security minister Widodo Adi Sucipto, a former military chief in Aceh, Major General Syarifuddin Tippe, and Information Minister Sofyan Djalil.

GAM's five-member strong team was headed by self-styled Aceh prime minister Malik Mahmud and his "foreign minister" Zaini Abdullah.

"Our main concern is to get a formal ceasefire, to deliver help to the victims, and to be able to do that you need a safe environment on the ground," GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah told AFP.

"That is something that has to be worked out. Hopefully we will be able to achieve this in the coming days. The main focus now is not the political aspect," he pointed out.

In Jakarta, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono struck a conciliatory note Thursday, but again rejected GAM's demand for Aceh independence.

"This is a great momentum for us to really think of ending the conflict and to unite as brothers (and) to further rebuild Aceh after being hit by the tsunami," Yudhoyono told reporters.

"Indonesia has offered to GAM's leadership in Aceh to terminate the conflict peacefully ... of course, this is in the framework of the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia and by adapting the special autonomy status," he added.

The talks are being held at an undisclosed location and are expected to continue through the weekend.

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