EU and US Discuss Burma Policy Coordination

Source: Irrawaddy News

The European Union's envoy to Burma discussed with US officials on Monday how to coordinate pressure on the ruling junta for political reform.

Piero Fassino's meetings in Washington came as EU foreign ministers approved implementation of new European sanctions against Burma.

Following a meeting with US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey, Fassino said the EU and the United States agree on how to handle Burma, whose military-ruled government used troops and police to crush peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in late September, killing at least 15 people.

"We have the same views on the isolation of the Burmese junta, right now," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "There is a common assessment that the central objective of the strategy must be to favor the dialogue among the various actors in Burma and of their reconciliation."

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