Singapore says ‘premature’ for ASEAN talks with Myanmar

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Friday that conditions were not yet right for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the country’s political situation. “We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level,” Balakrishnan said when asked about a news report that Thailand had proposed talks.

Speaking in a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan said the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had recently reaffirmed their stance.