JakartaPost/Reuters-May 15
Malaysia Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah met his counterpart from Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration outlawed by the ruling military junta, in the group’s first open engagement with a Southeast Asian country. The meeting, disclosed by Saifuddin in a Twitter post late on Saturday, was held on the sidelines of a two-day summit in Washington between the United States and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which excluded Myanmar’s leader over a military coup last year. Myanmar has repeatedly called on countries not to engage with the NUG, a group of members from the ousted administration, and other military opponents that the junta has labelled as “terrorists”. In his Twitter post, Saifuddin said Malaysia “stands ready to work towards restoring peace and democracy in Myanmar” during an informal meeting with NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung. A spokesman for the Myanmar’s military rulers did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the meeting. Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry in a statement, however, denounced reports of engagements in Washington between the US State Department and NUG officials and said it had sent protest notes to all ASEAN countries and the United States asking them to refrain from talking to the opposition government. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2022/05/15/malaysia-fm-meets-counterpart-from-myanmar-shadow-govt-in-washington.html.
