WASHINGTON: Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke on Wednesday with the Myanmar government representative in exile, the first contact announced between a senior US official and rival administration to the generals who overthrew democratically elected government.
The State Department said Sherman spoke with Zin Mar Aung, who has been appointed as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in the National Shadow Unity Government for Myanmar, also known as Burma.
“They discussed sustainable efforts to restore Burma to the road to democracy, including continuing US support for the pro-democracy movement,” he said.
“In addition, they discussed efforts to combat the increase in Covid-19 infection in Burma and to provide critical humanitarian assistance to the Burmese people.” A few hours earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met virtually with colleagues from Southeast Asian countries and asked them to take together actions to urge the military to end violence, the Department of State said.
He also urged the Group’s foreign ministers to encourage Myanmar to “release all those detained unfairly, and restore Burma’s way to democracy,” said the previous statement.