New Delhi – The United Nations Secretary-General yesterday refuted dubbing his special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's recent visit to Burma a failure, saying his envoy had held decisive meetings with the military leaders of Burma.
Ban Ki-moon, replying to a question during a press conference on Tuesday in New York said, his envoy Gambari had good meetings with Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein, detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and executive members of her party - the National League for Democracy.
However, Gambari, during his recent visit to Burma in early February, failed to meet Burma's military supremo Snr. Gen Than Shwe.
"He had good discussions there, even though one may not be totally satisfied. I look forward to building on this visit with the view to further promote national dialogue and reconciliation through his good offices and my good offices," he said.
Ban Ki-moon reiterated his call for both the Burmese government and the opposition to immediately resume substantive dialogue without preconditions and also said he would discuss the matter with the 'Group of Friends of Myanmar' in the near future.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry revealed that UN envoy Gambari had arrived in China and held meetings with Foreign Ministry officials on Burma.
A statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said, China had assured the visiting envoy its willingness to continue to support the mediation efforts by the UN in Burma.
During a meeting with Gambari, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, "China hopes that Myanmar [Burma] will maintain stability and continue to push forward the domestic democratic process and improve people's livelihood."
The Chinese Foreign Minister also urged the international community to offer constructive assistance to Burma, in implementing reforms and maintaining stability.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a military analyst based along the Sino-Burmese border told Mizzima earlier that China wants changes in Burma and has been supporting the Untied Nations initiative.
"For China, the best mediator is the UN. They might not accept if some other country takes up the lead to solve Burma's problems," he told Mizzima.
But sadly, he said, the Burmese military junta is stubborn and Chinese advice, at times, fails to have any impact. Though China might be seen as the country, which has a lot of influence over Burma, the junta likes to make its own decisions.
Gambari, who is touring the region after his visit to Burma earlier this month, also briefed the Chinese Foreign Minister on his visit and explained of his next phase of work.
The United Nations, however, has not disclosed Gambari's next stop. The Nigerian diplomat, following his visit to Burma, had arrived in India to meet visiting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
