Cambodia welcomes Myanmar foreign minister, day after Aung San Suu Kyi sentencing drew global condemnation

Wunna Maung Lwin held talks on Tuesday with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who earlier said junta officials should be invited to Asean meetings

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has seen divisions emerge between members over its diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar since the coup

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, greets Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. Photo: An Khoun SamAun/National Television of Cambodia via AP

Reutersin Phnom Penh

Published: 1:30pm, 7 Dec 2021

Myanmar’s military-appointed foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, held talks in Cambodia on Tuesday, a day after the junta drew global condemnation for sentencing deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to jail for incitement and breaching Covid-19 rules.

Wunna Maung met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, with the men tapping elbows in a greeting before talks, government handout pictures showed.

Cambodia will be the chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, a bloc that includes Myanmar.

Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, left, meets Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. Photo An Khoun Samaun NTC Handout via EPA

Asean has seen divisions emerge between members over its diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar since Suu Kyi’s government was overthrown in a February 1 coup and she and others were detained.

Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the annual summit of group leaders in October hosted by Brunei after members failed to reach a consensus, but Hun Sen on Monday said junta officials should be invited to the bloc’s meetings.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which led to widespread protests and raised international concern about the end of tentative political reforms following decades of military rule.