Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the Burmese junta, in Moscow
Ảnh tư liệu: Lãnh đạo tập đoàn quân sự Miến Điện, tướng Min Aung Hlaing dự một cuộc thao dượt quân sự tại vùng đồng bằng Ayeyarwaddy, Miến Đy 03/02/2018, ngàn Điện 03/02/2018.
REUTERS - POOL
Text by: Daniel Vallot Follow
3 min
Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the junta that seized power in Burma last February arrived in Moscow this Sunday, June 20 for a visit lasting several days at the invitation of the Russian Defense Ministry.
This is the second time since the coup in Burma that Min Aung Hlaing has made an official trip abroad.
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From our correspondent in Moscow
,
Russia had already shown very clear support for the Burmese junta by sending its deputy defense minister to Rangoon. It was last March, in the midst of a crackdown on pro-democracy protests. This visit by the head of the junta to Moscow is another illustration of this: Russia is resolutely on the side of the military who have seized power in Burma. Illustration all the more striking since it comes a few days after the vote by the General Assembly of the United Nations of a resolution asking member countries to "
put an end to the flow of arms
" to this country - vote for which Russia preferred to abstain.
Details and duration of the visit were not disclosed, but it is known that Min Aung Hlaing has been invited by the Russian Defense Ministry, and that he will attend the Conference later this week. Moscow for international security.
Even though the meeting has not been officially announced, it is likely that Min Aung Hlaing is expected to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Choigou.
Arms sales
The visit will undoubtedly be almost entirely devoted to the arms contracts that Russia could conclude with the Burmese junta. Russia is a traditional partner of Burma in military cooperation, and today it is its second largest arms supplier, just behind China. Since 1999, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia has sold $ 1.5 billion worth of weapons to Burma, compared to China for $ 1.6 billion.
With the
coup d'état against Ang San Suu Kyi
, Moscow therefore hopes to increase its presence in Burma and, through this, in Southeast Asia.
The head of the Burmese junta sees nothing wrong with this: because Russia's good manners not only allow it to come out of its international isolation, but also to escape a stifling tête-à-tête with China - the one of the rare powers with Russia not to have condemned the coup.
► To read also: Burma: the UN calls "to prevent the flow of arms" in the country
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