US wants Myanmar out of isolation

http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/us-wants-myanmar-out-of-isolation/

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According to AFP news:

The United States wants to forge a common strategy with Asia to coax military-run Myanmar out of isolation, a senior official said yesterday, suggesting six-way talks with North Korea could be a model. President Barack Obama’s administration has launched a review of policy on Myanmar, also known as Burma, where a US official last week paid the first visit by a senior envoy in more than seven years.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg said the United States wanted a “collaborative and constructive” approach on Myanmar, saying nations with sway over the junta should avoid “recreating a mini version of the Great Game.” “Viewing relations with a notorious authoritarian regime like Burma as a zero-sum game is in no nation’s interest,” Steinberg told the National Bureau of Asian Research, a think-tank.




“We want to discuss a common approach with ASEAN, with China, with India and with Japan to find a policy that will improve the lives of the people of Burma and promote stability in this key region,” he said.

Asian nations including those in ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have mostly tried to engage with Myanmar.