Myanmar Sides Open to Dialogue, Thai FM Confirms
SkimNews Take
Shuttle-style separate talks signal ASEAN has lowered its aim from a joint framework to rhetorical alignment — but "no military solution" has been stated before without producing one.
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- ASEAN special envoy Maria Theresa Lazaro held separate talks with Myanmar's military-backed negotiators and six rebel groups, with all sides recognizing there is no military solution to the civil war, Thai FM Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.
- ASEAN foreign ministers held their first in-person talks with Myanmar's counterpart since the 2021 coup that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's government, meeting on Sunday.
- Six rebel groups, including the Karen National Union and the Karenni National Progressive Party, met with Lazaro and Sihasak the following day; the groups are open to dialogue but have yet to agree on a common position.
- Thailand is ready to serve as facilitator and provide a venue for future peace talks, a move toward reviving the stalled ASEAN Five-Point Consensus peace plan.
- Lazaro and Thai officials also met Myanmar's military-backed National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee as part of the parallel track.
- Sihasak described the current effort as "talks for talks" — focused on how and where to conduct negotiations rather than substantive peace terms — and said Thailand and ASEAN hope to meet detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi face to face.
Why it matters: An estimated 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Myanmar's 2021 coup, making the civil war one of Southeast Asia's worst humanitarian crises. Thailand's offer to host talks could revive the long-stalled ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, but Sihasak's own "talks for talks" framing — with rebel groups still divided on a common position — signals that substantive negotiations remain far off.
