NAYPYIDAW (AFP) - Dialogue between Myanmar's ruling military and ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end the bloody crisis unleashed by the toppling of her government last year is "not impossible", the ruling military spokesman told AFP on Friday (July 1).
The South-east Asian nation has been in chaos since the putsch, with renewed fighting with ethnic rebel groups, dozens of "People's Defence Forces" springing up to fight the military government and the economy in tatters.
Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, has been kept virtually incommunicado by the military and was recently transferred from house arrest to solitary confinement while she faces multiple trials that could see her sentenced to more than 150 years in jail.
"There is nothing impossible in politics," ruling military spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP when asked if the military government could enter into dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi to resolve the turmoil.
"We cannot say that (negotiations with Suu Kyi) are impossible."
"Several countries" had urged opening dialogue with the Nobel laureate, he said, without giving details.
Diplomatic efforts led by the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) - of which Myanmar is a member - have so far failed to halt the bloodshed.
Last year, the bloc agreed on a "five-point consensus", which calls for a cessation of violence and constructive dialogue, but the military government has largely ignored it.
Asean envoy and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday for his second visit aimed at kickstarting dialogue between the ruling military and opponents to its rule.
He met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday, and on Friday met members of several political parties in the military-built capital Naypyitaw, SAC spokesman said.
The ruling military has said he will not be allowed to visit Ms Suu Kyi.
"We have performed whatever she asked for related to her health and living situation," Mr Zaw Min Tun said regarding Ms Suu Kyi's new living conditions in prison.
Fighting continues across swathes of the country, with local media reporting killing and burning sprees by military troops as they struggle to crush opposition to the military takeover.
Almost 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the putsch, the United Nations said in May.
On Thursday, Thailand scrambled F-16 fighter aircraft after a Myanmar jet involved in clashes with anti-military fighters near its border violated its airspace, officials said.
China's foreign minister was due to land in Myanmar on Friday for a regional meeting, in what will be Beijing's highest-profile visit to Myanmar since the military takeover.
It was unclear whether a meeting between Mr Wang Yi and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing would take place, SAC spokesman said.
China is a major arms supplier and ally of the ruling military and has refused to label the military's power grab a "coup".
