Published on Sun, Nov 15, 2009 at 16:01 | Source : Reuters
Updated at Sun, Nov 15, 2009 at 16:19
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Obama calls for Suu Kyi's release at ASEAN summit
US President Barack Obama called for the release of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he met the country's prime minister at a meeting with other Southeast Asian leaders in Singapore on Sunday.
US President Barack Obama called for the release of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he met the country's Prime Minister at a meeting with other Southeast Asian leaders in Singapore on Sunday.
Obama did not speak or shake hands with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein at the meeting in Singapore's Shangri-la hotel with the 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the first with a US president.
He joined the ASEAN tradition of linking arms at the start of the meeting, looking a bit bemused, before the leaders sat down around a circular table for the talks.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama reiterated his call for Suu Kyi to be freed, although a statement to be issued after the meeting does not demand her release or that of other political prisoners ahead of elections in the military-ruled country next year.
The meeting in Singapore marked the first time in history a US leader had met with his counterparts in the 42-year-old grouping, founded at the height of the Vietnam War. It took place after an Asia-Pacific summit.
For the first time in decades, the United States and ASEAN are singing from the same hymn book when it comes to Myanmar.
Washington has recently taken a two-prong approach to the former Burma, engaging the junta while keeping sanctions on the resource-rich nation that shares borders with India and China.
