By LALIT K JHA / NEW YORK Thursday, July 3, 2008
The UN Security Council will take up the political impasse in Burma this month, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Wednesday. No agreement on the date of the discussion could be reached.
Briefing UN correspondents after a closed meeting of the Security Council on the agenda for July, Khalilzad, who serves as council president last month, said the current crisis in Zimbabwe and a resolution on the Burmese political crisis were two issues raised by member countries during the meeting.
"There was a discussion that there should be a briefing with regard to Burma this month,” said Khalilzad, noting the Burmese political issue has been overshadowed by the humanitarian disaster that occurred in early May.
"We do not have a date yet agreed to with regards to the briefing on Burma,” he said.
The Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN, Le Luong Ming, told reporters that members could not reach a consensus on when to discuss the Burma issue. He said there were proposals for the president to keep the members informed on the humanitarian situation in both Burma and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, the White House said Burma would be a top priority when US President George W Bush meets with world leaders in Japan on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit.
As announced earlier, Special UN Envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is expected to visit Burma this month to continue his political dialogue with the military government and pro-democracy leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest. No date of the visit has been announced.
Meanwhile, in Beijing, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took up the issue of Burma and sought the support of Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jinbao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
The UN Security Council will take up the political impasse in Burma this month, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Wednesday. No agreement on the date of the discussion could be reached.
Briefing UN correspondents after a closed meeting of the Security Council on the agenda for July, Khalilzad, who serves as council president last month, said the current crisis in Zimbabwe and a resolution on the Burmese political crisis were two issues raised by member countries during the meeting.
"There was a discussion that there should be a briefing with regard to Burma this month,” said Khalilzad, noting the Burmese political issue has been overshadowed by the humanitarian disaster that occurred in early May.
"We do not have a date yet agreed to with regards to the briefing on Burma,” he said.
The Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN, Le Luong Ming, told reporters that members could not reach a consensus on when to discuss the Burma issue. He said there were proposals for the president to keep the members informed on the humanitarian situation in both Burma and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, the White House said Burma would be a top priority when US President George W Bush meets with world leaders in Japan on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit.
As announced earlier, Special UN Envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is expected to visit Burma this month to continue his political dialogue with the military government and pro-democracy leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest. No date of the visit has been announced.
Meanwhile, in Beijing, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took up the issue of Burma and sought the support of Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jinbao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
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