He said this in his opening remarks during the 20th meeting of the NCA signatories’ Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), which was held at Khum Phu Kham Hotel in Thai northern city of Chiang Mai on May 27.

“We need to evaluate whether we are facing the obstacles due to preconditions, difficulties in carrying out the tasks, or [existence of] a big gap in negotiating the points,” he said.

During the two-day meeting, the EAOs will discuss the outcomes from the recent informal talk with the government on the political and security sectors and set down decisions.

“The government, the Tatmadaw, and the EAOs haven’t been able to achieve much success because we seem to have similar views but each of us has our own objectives and goals. So, we need to find common views and goals,” Gen Mutu Say Poe continued.

The meeting will cover the issues on setting down decisions for the future plans regarding the peace process, the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) secretaries, and UPDJC meetings, and the third session of the Union Peace Conference – 21st Century Panglong.

“Both sides need to discuss by aiming towards national reconciliation and peace without setting down preconditions in order to achieve successful political negotiations based on the peace process,” he said.

He urged them to strive together for peace in the country, which is based on a new political culture, which comprises mutual respect, negotiation, and restraint on the use of force despite facing difficulties in implementing the NCA.

Around 40 leaders including those from the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU) participated in the meeting. Based on the outcome of the meeting, the political security informal talk committees plan to meet with the government again on May 30.