Congregating at the highest level since its formation in December 2007, Saturday's meeting of the "Group of Friends on Burma" yet again showcased the deep divides that run between interested parties in assisting to chart a path forward for the conflict ridden Southeast Asian country.

A consortium of 14 countries and the European Union, the Group of Friends is the creation of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who aimed for the motley collection of parties to the bloc to supplement the United Nations ongoing efforts regarding Burma and facilitate in developing a common approach to address the country's ills.

However, this weekend's gathering proved the Friends still have sizable gaps to bridge between themselves if a shared approach to Burma is to be realized, while reaffirmation of the mandate of Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy to the country, Ibrahim Gambari, comes at a time when several Burmese opposition voices and rights groups are decrying the Special Envoy's actions as the equivalent of capitulating to the unilateral policies of the junta.

The meeting adjourned without any consensus on what signs of progress would be considered adequate to warrant a future high-level United Nations visit, with members instead forced to revert to the now all-familiar and unspecific mantra of calling for the release of political prisoners and the initiation of meaningful dialogue.

The Group of Friends urged the ruling junta "to work more closely with and respond more positively with the United Nations good offices to address key issues of concern to the international community, especially the release of political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the initiation of an all-inclusive dialogue between the Government and the opposition," according to a statement attributable to the Secretary General following the meeting's closure.

As one example of the competing interests and ideological divides holding the Group of Friends hostage, China, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam all sought to commend the junta for its release last week of a half dozen political prisoners. However, an opposing bloc led by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Australia nixed any such possibility, arguing that the release of a mere six political prisoners out of a political prisoner population of approximately 2,000 did not begin to go near far enough to warrant commendation.

Thus, with little in the realm of a shared concrete vision to offer, the Group of Friends instead refocused attention, and their support, on the continued involvement of the United Nations good offices.

"Members of the Group encouraged all parties in Myanmar to seize the opportunity of the UN good offices," in the words of Ban Ki-moon, "while stressing the responsibility of the Myanmar [Burma] Government to demonstrate its stated commitment to cooperation with the good offices through further tangible results."

However, the United Nations good offices, as championed by Gambari, appear poised to work with the junta toward the holding of a general election in 2010, an act that several opposition and activist groups, including the influential 88 Generation Students, have already said they will not acknowledge as a legitimate process.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Campaign for Burma accused the Special Envoy, during his August visit to Burma, of "urging NLD leaders to participate in a sham 2010 election that guarantees all key government ministries to the military."

The convening of the meeting during the 63rd sitting of the United Nations General Assembly, by the international body's own account, highlighted "the importance that the international community attaches to the situation in Myanmar [Burma]."

But more importantly, the conclusion of proceedings made perfectly clear the continued rift in the international community over what is an acceptable gauge of progress regarding political reform on the part of Burma's ruling generals.

It was the sixth meeting in total of the Group, whose members include Australia, China, the European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.