Absolute distance measurement with accuracy below the micron scale is important in astronomical optical interferometry. We present here an absolute laser rangefinder which relies on the detection of a two mode interference signal. We exploit the specific signature of the signal to extract both the interferometric and synthetic phase measurements, leading to distance measurement with nanometric accuracy. A resolution of 100 pm has been achieved in 75 μs with a relatively simple laser source. Amplitude to phase coupling in the detection chains turns out to be the largest source of systematic errors. A specific detection scheme is implemented, using optical demodulation of the microwave optical signal, to reduce amplitude-to-phase related systematic errors to below the required level.