Ban says Burma's Parties Have Agreed to Talk

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur via The Nation
Burma's military government and opposition parties have agreed to hold "meaningful and substantive" talks to resolve the political crisis triggered by pro-democracy demonstrations, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

Ban said he had been briefed by his special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who returned to New York this past weekend from a six-day visit in Burma aimed at convincing the military junta to agree to democratic reforms.

"As a result of this visit, a process has been launched that will hopefully lead to a meaningful and substantive dialogue with concrete outcomes within an agreed timeframe," Ban said in a statement.

"The secretary general welcomes the willingness expressed by both sides to work with the United Nations to this end," the statement said.

The president of the UN General Assembly, Srgjan Kerim, added his support to the reported agreement to start dialogue.

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