"We want reassurance that they`re going to discontinue whatever military-to-military relationship they may have with North Korea," Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.
McConnell, newly returned from a trip to the country known in Washington as Burma, said he favored sending a US ambassador to Myanmar, citing the new regime`s plans to release political prisoners and hold a by-election on April 1.
"I recommended to them that they have international observers there. That`s not uncommon in countries that are having first-time elections," said McConnell, who has long had an interest in relations between the two countries.
"If that goes well, then we`ll continue to take a look at what additional steps they need to take in order to warrant the removal of some or all of the sanctions," a step that requires congressional approval, he said.
McConnell called the regime`s ceasefire with the Karen ethnic minority "a good step" and urged a similar effort with Kachin rebels.
Myanmar state media announced Friday that the government and the guerrillas have agreed to hold further negotiations in search of an end to a bloody conflict in the country`s far north.
And McConnell underscored worries in Washington about possible ties between North Korea and Myanmar and said he would be "looking for verification that those relationships, if they previously existed, don`t exist any longer." (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
