Irrawaddy-March 1
Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has been invited by Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Moscow. Russia and China are the regime’s major arms suppliers and Putin is one of the few foreign leaders to support Myanmar’s military takeover. China and Russia have opposed United Nations Security Council resolutions against the regime, which backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is the first official invitation from Putin for Min Aung Hlaing, who has been shunned internationally. He met Putin in September 2022 at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia. Russia’s state-run Tass reported that bilateral cooperation and international issues would be discussed. Myanmar’s regime stated that Min Aung Hlaing would also meet Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the speaker of the Russian State Duma and other government chiefs. Other junta chiefs would join the delegation and junta tycoons and arms brokers are expected to travel too. Russia and the junta have become increasingly close with Moscow expanding its cooperation in trade, nuclear energy, investment, education, religion, culture and other sectors. On February 24, the Russian minister for economic development, Maxim Reshetnikov, signed an agreement with Kan Zaw, the junta’s investment minister, to kickstart the stalled Dawei Special Economic Zone and port project in Tanintharyi Region.
The agreement came a year after Min Aung Hlaing declared last March that his regime was seeking Moscow’s help to kickstart the Dawei project for vessels exceeding 200,000 tons. Russia and Myanmar’s regime have also agreed to construct a small nuclear power plant, which the junta claims will help end blackouts in the country. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmars-crisis-the-world/min-aung-hlaing-to-visit-russia.html
