MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin was holding talks on Tuesday with the head of Myanmar’s military government, who is seeking to cement cooperation with Moscow as he faces isolation and sanctions from the West.
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing is making his fourth trip to Russia since his army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Western nations have ostracized Myanmar’s ruling military and imposed economic and political sanctions in response to the takeover and the violent repression of opposition, which has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and given rise to an armed conflict widely seen as a civil war.
Welcoming Min Aung Hlaing at the start of the Kremlin talks, Putin noted growing bilateral trade and close cooperation on the international arena, and thanked him for sending six baby elephants to Moscow.
Russia, along with China, is a major supporter and arms supplier to Myanmar. Russian-made fighter jets are used in attacks on territory under the control of ethnic minority groups, many of which are allies with pro-democracy resistance forces.
Russia defends Myanmar’s military government in international forums, and the ruling generals generally support Moscow’s foreign policy agenda. The two countries have also held joint military drills and signed a pact on developing nuclear power.
Ming Aung Hlaing thanked Putin for the assistance and emphasized his military government’s support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
“Russia is a key backer of the Myanmar military,” said Morgan Michaels, a Singapore-based analyst with the International Institute of Strategic Studies. “In addition to diplomatic and symbolic support, it plays a vital role in enhancing and sustaining the regime’s warfighting capacity.”
Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s main opposition National Unity Government, said the military leader is in desperate need of international recognition and willing to trade the country’s resources in exchange.
“So, to maintain his power, he will go to countries that will recognize him and provide him with some kind of assistance, and exchange what he wants with the country,” Nay Phone Latt said Monday in a text message to the AP.
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Grant Peck and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.
