UK arms exports to Indonesia could resume within weeks, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

The Europe-wide embargo was put in place in September as a response to the widespread killings in East Timor after the province voted for independence from the rest of Indonesia.

A Foreign Office spokesman told BBC News Online that the government wanted to be seen to be "underpinning rather than undermining" the country's new democratically elected President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Violence on the wane

"Since the embargo, the Indonesians have invited in the help of multinational peacekeepers and the violence in East Timor has largely ended," said the spokesman.

"Indonesia, has renounced all claims over East Timor and the militias have started to disband."

The European Union is meeting to discuss the embargo which was originally set to run for four months.

Controversially, the resumption of exports could see the remaining Hawk training jets, built by British Aerospace head for Indonesia.

The jets were granted export licenses by the previous government but the Foreign Office moved to stress that all new arms exports to Indonesia would be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Indonesia would remain "on notice" and export decisions would be subject ti human rights abuses.

'Exports would be irresponsible'

The Liberal Democrats have already greeted the news with dismay.

Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jenny Tonge told BBC News Online: "It is very difficult to know what the government would be underpinning.

"I don't think the new president, President Wahid, has shown much evidence of having control over the armed forces yet.

"The terrible violence after the poll in East Timor has shown us what can happen when things go wrong.

"I think to resume arms exports so soon after that conflict is quite irresponsible and shows the government putting British commercial interests first."