A new round of negotiations was set for April, the third since the Indian Ocean tsunamis that devastated Aceh made the need for a settlement more pressing.

After the Helsinki meeting ended, Indonesian communications minister and delegation member Sofyan Djalil said the rebels initially had rejected outright a government offer of special autonomy.

But as the talks progressed, their position "changed dramatically", he told

"They started talking of the substance, they started inquiring (about) local autonomy, even though they don't agree with that term," he said.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) prefers the term self-government.

"The meeting this time from our perspective has some progress," Djalil said, adding: "This is the first time GAM didn't mention independence."

He said the talks had focused on Indonesia's proposals concerning "local authority, special autonomy, amnesty and other arrangements to integrate GAM people into the community," as well as "about security arrangements ... and a timetable."

However, there would be no lasting ceasefire agreement until all issues were agreed upon, Djalil said.

"Nothing is agreed until all is agreed," he said.

The two sides agreed to meet again in Helsinki for a third round of talks April 12-17, said a statement by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated the talks.

GAM was expected to hold a press conference later Wednesday summing up its position on the talks.

GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah told AFP earlier he was "optimistic" about the negotiations, but denied reports claiming that his group had decided to give up its nearly 30-year fight for full independence and accept Jakarta's offer of limited self-rule for Aceh.

"GAM's struggle for independence still remains on track," he said, adding however that "independence is not on the table. If we talked about independence there would be no talks ... We're looking for a way for the (peace) process to continue."

"This doesn't mean that we will accept the (proposed) autonomy," he said, pointing out that he hoped the talks would allow negotiations to continue and help both sides to sell the idea of peace to their constituents on the ground, enabling a lasting ceasefire.

"There are people who disagree with the peace process," he said.

The Helsinki peace talks are considered a milestone in dealings between the warring sides.

When they met for an initial round at the end of January, it was the first time they had stood face-to-face since May 2003, when the government declared martial law and launched a major military offensive in the province.

More than 12,000 people have been killed since Aceh separatists began fighting for independence for the oil-rich province in 1976, claiming Jakarta plunders its resources and the army commits atrocities against its population.

The renewed efforts to reach a peaceful solution were prompted by a need for international aid to reach Aceh, which bore the brunt of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunamis in December.

Although both parties agreed during the first round of talks to "try to refrain from hostilities" during Aceh's recovery, the army has admitted killing more than 200 rebels since the tsunami struck.

And even as the latest round of talks began on Monday, Indonesia's military announced that one of its soldiers and two civilians had been killed when a group of 30 rebels ambushed troops who were on their way to carry out relief work in western Aceh.

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