Suu Kyi in power transition talks

Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held talks yesterday with the president and military chief about the handover of power, the first such discussions since her opposition party's election triumph.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won nearly 80 percent of contested seats in a November 8 election.

Immediately after the poll she had appealed for "national reconciliation" talks with President Thein Sein and the powerful army chief.

Both men have congratulated her on the NLD's victory and vowed to ensure a smooth transition of power to an elected opposition -- an unprecedented act in the country's history.

Yesterday morning, Suu Kyi spent 45 minutes in the capital Naypyidaw with Thein Sein.

Later Suu Kyi met the army chief Min Aung Hlaing for about an hour in another closed session.

They agreed "to cooperate on stability and peace, the rule of the law, unity and reconciliation and development of the country as regards to the wishes of people", according to a statement posted on the Facebook page of General Hlaing's office.

The NLD has yet to comment on the talks. But opposition supporters remain wary of a military that has duped them before and retains significant political clout, including filling a quarter of all parliamentary seats.

Suu Kyi, 70, is also barred from the presidency by the constitution, while new NLD lawmakers are not due to take their seats until at least February, making for a nervous few months of transition.

The NLD won a similar landslide in 1990 polls, only to see the military ignore the result and dig in for another two decades.