“[The common terms negotiated in Laiza] will not be affected if we sign off on them or not,” Major Sai Lao Seng said. “We will still work with them even though we did not sign anything.”

Major Seng assured the media that the RCSS will continue to cooperate with the armed groups and the government in coordinating a ceasefire.

Eighteen ethnic armed groups attended the Laiza summit meeting to discuss a nationwide ceasefire. The RCSS was the only organization to not sign off on a set of common agreements and objectives.These included basic rules of conduct, an acceptable political roadmap, the implementation of a ceasefire, disassociation from underground organizations, and corroboration.

Pado Kwel Htoo Win, secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), confirmed that asecond summit meeting will beheld in December and will focus on the nationwide ceasefire and political talks.

Naing Hanthar, leader of the Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT), said that his organization will only attend the second conference if all the armed groups, including the RCSS, have signed all ceasefire-related agreements.

“We will attend the second summit meeting and sign the ceasefire only if all the other armed groups have approved it,” he said. “If an armed group has yet to sign the agreement, we will not participate.”