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India, China, Russia jointly oppose sanctions on Myanmar
April 30, 2008: (PTI) Harbin, China: India on wednesday opposed imposing sanctions on Myanmar and called for encouraging all stakeholders to advance political reforms and national reconciliation, a move jointly supported by China and Russia.
"We believe that the initiative taken by the UN Secretary General (Ban-Ki Moon) to open dialogue amongst the various stakeholders in Myanmar should be encouraged," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a joint press conference after the end of the third standalone meeting of Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia here.
Mukherjee said India has also suggested that the process of political reform and national reconciliation should be expedited on a broad base and equally among all stakeholders.
"We believe that Myanmar authorities should be encouraged to engage in the process of dialogue with the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General (Ibrahim Gambari), the initiative which he has taken should be encouraged to take it to the logical conclusion and there should not be any sanctions at this stage," the minister emphasised.
Mukherjee acknowledged that the Myanmar issue had figured prominently during the trilateral meeting and they exchanged views on it.
Ultimately, the issue of Myanmar should be resolved by the Myanmarese government and the country's people, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said.
He said China believes that the parties concerned will conduct dialogue to help Myanmar restore stability and improve the life of the people and promote democracy and development in Myanmar.