JAKARTA, Jan. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, who is on a two-day visit here, has reiterated his country's willingness to pull out troops from the tsunami-hit Aceh province as soon as they complete their rescue mission.

    At a press conference upon his arrival at a military base in Jakarta Saturday, Wolfowitz said the US presence, including its military presence, would not be in Aceh for long, according to the Jakarta Post on Sunday.

    Wolfowitz, who was a former US ambassador in Jakarta, is due to fly to Aceh Sunday to see the US troops engaged in rescue and relief missions and will come back to Jakarta to hold talks with Indonesian officials, according to local media reports.

    Indonesian Vice President Yusuf Kalla last Wednesday asked foreign troops to pull out of Aceh by March 26.

    On the agenda of his talks with Indonesian officials is the possibility of US lifting a 13-year-old arms embargo on Indonesia,as has been required by the Indonesian government.

    Indonesian officials said that because of the embargo, 17 American-made C-130 military planes of the Indonesian Air Force could not take off for rescue and relief missions in some remote tsunami-struck areas of Aceh because they lack spare parts.

    According to local media reports, Indonesian officials have also called on Washington to further lift the embargo on arms sales and resume combat training programs for the Indonesian military.

    The United States imposed arms embargo on Indonesia in 1991 after Indonesian troops reportedly gunned down unarmed protesters in East Timor. The ban was tightened after Indonesian-backed militias reportedly killed 1,500 East Timorese after the half-island voted for independence in a UN-sponsored referendum in 1999.Enditem