BURMA: RUSSIAN MFA SEES BURMA HEADING IN RIGHT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001248 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UNSC BM RS SUBJECT: BURMA: RUSSIAN MFA SEES BURMA HEADING IN RIGHT DIRECTION REF: STATE 20000 Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells. Reasons: 1.4(B/D). ¶1. (C) In a recent discussion with Anatoliy Borovik, Chief of the MFA's Burma, Cambodia and Laos Section, we underlined the U.S. commitment to continue actively promoting national reconciliation, respect for human rights and a transition to democracy in Burma. Borovik told us that Russia did not deny that Burma faced significant challenges, but Moscow did not view these problems as constituting a threat to international or even regional peace and stability. When pressed, he made it clear that Russia was unlikely to support U.S. initiatives on Burma in the UN or other international fora. ¶2. (C) Stressing several times Burma's complicated history and constant challenges to its territorial integrity, Borovik said that Russia saw the regime's National Convention as a positive step forward. Warning that progress would be slow, he said that Moscow supported a step-by-step approach and viewed efforts at putting pressure on the Burmese government as self-defeating. Questioning why the U.S. continued to express an unusual level of concern about the human rights situation in Burma, Borovik asked why India -- Burma's neighbor and "the world's biggest democracy" -- not only did not share these concerns but was actively seeking to build stronger ties to Rangoon. ¶3. (C) Borovik argued that the National League for Democracy had refused to engage in the National Convention and that other opposition groups had decided to "swallow their differences" and join in the process. He saw the National Convention as the only means existing by which Burma could develop "some sort of democracy." In his view, international organizations, to the extent they were able, should work at supporting the Burmese government's efforts to find a "Burmese style" solution to its internal political problems. BURNS