CHINA: Chinese, Indian, and Russian foreign ministers say no to sanctions on Myanmar

In a trilateral meeting held in Harbin, the foreign ministers of China, India, and Russia said sanctions should not be applied on Myanmar. China, India and Russia have ruled out sanctions against the military junta of Myanmar. The decision came at a trilateral meeting of the countries in China's north-eastern city of Harbin on Wednesday (October 24). Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov met Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Yang said a more constructive role from the international community would be welcome. "We hope that the countries concerned will play a helping role, instead of applying sanctions, and apply pressure," he said. Australia slapped financial sanctions on Myanmar's generals and their families on Wednesday in response to last month's bloody crackdown on the largest pro-democracy protests in two decades. A major arms supplier and trading partner, China is one of the few countries thought to have any sway over the isolated Myanmar regime, which has lived with U.S. and European sanctions for 10 years with little apparent discomfort. Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said international dialogue with Myanmar was the solution and he hoped the authorities in Yangon would take part. When asked about the planned U.S. missile defence shield system in eastern Europe, Yang said it would be harmful to world peace. "We believe that the system will not only result in not helping certain countries with their concerns and security, but also harm the balance and stability of the world as well as affecting the mutual trust of certain countries," he said. The U.S. plans to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic as part of a shield Washington says is needed to counter possible attacks from "rogue states" including Iran and North Korea. Russia says the shield is a threat to its security and could spark an arms race, concerns U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates sought to ease in Moscow talks last week. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said measures would be taken if unspecified "threats" to Russia's security arose.

ITN Source | October 24, 2007

Tags:. .certain. .protests. .iran. .secretary. .chinese