Thailand seeking to re-engage Myanmar junta with ASEAN meeting
Thailand's caretaker government was set to host the foreign minister of Myanmar's ruling junta at informal regional peace talks on Sunday, but key Southeast Asian counterparts were staying away from the meeting that has drawn sharp criticism.
Only Cambodia has so far officially confirmed it intended to attend the planned talks.
Myanmar's generals have been barred for nearly two years from senior-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for failing to honour an agreement to start talks with opponents linked to the ousted civilian government that had been led by now-jailed Aung San Suu Kyi.
But Thailand, whose premier himself first took power in a military coup, invited Myanmar's junta-appointed Foreign Minister Than Swe to the talks along with other foreign ministers in the 10-member ASEAN bloc, two sources with knowledge of the meeting said.
Thailand's foreign ministry was tight-lipped about the hastily called two-day gathering in the resort town of Pattaya, for which outgoing Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai sent invitation letters just four days before its planned start.
Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Natapanu Nopakun said on Sunday morning he had 'no information' on the meeting.
Myanmar has been roiled by violence since a Feb. 1, 2021 coup, with the military battling on multiple fronts to try to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement formed in response to the crackdown. The junta says it is fighting terrorists who aim to destroy the country.
.png "Advertisement")
