Russian support for Myanmar junta ‘destabilising’ SE Asia: US envoy
Russia's backing for Myanmar's military rulers is unacceptable and destabilising, with its supply of weapons helping to fuel a conflict that has become a catastrophe for the country, a top US official said on Thursday.
The United States is concerned about the wider impact of the escalating crisis in Myanmar since a coup in 2021 and advancement of the junta's ties with Russia, which could seek to establish military bases in the country, US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet told Reuters.
"Anyone who is talking to Moscow needs to tell them that their continued military support for the junta is unacceptable. It's destabilising," he said in an interview during his trip to Southeast Asia.
"And it's not only a problem for Myanmar, it's a problem for this region."
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy, with about 1.2 million people displaced by fighting, according to the United Nations, as the military seeks to crush resistance to its rule.
Activists and UN experts have condemned Russia as well as China for supplying weapons to a military they accuse of systematic atrocities against civilians.
"What I have seen over the last several years is a military relationship that is only growing," Chollet said. "I'm more concerned right now about the supply of weapons going into Myanmar from Russia principally."
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