RUSSIA "SATISFIED" WITH BURMA'S ROADMAP FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 000401 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA "SATISFIED" WITH BURMA'S ROADMAP FOR DEMOCRACY REF: RANGOON 109 Classified By: Political M/C Alice G. Wells for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (U) The MFA issued a statement February 12, expressing "satisfaction" with the Burmese regime's recent announcement of the next steps in its "Roadmap" for political change (reftel). The MFA said that Russia hoped that the regime's decision to set dates for the "next phases of political change," including completing a draft constitution and holding a referendum on the draft, would "help reduce tension being fanned by certain countries around the so-called Myanmar question and will constitute an additional impulse to intensify the dialogue of all concerned political forces within Myanmar on the issues of the future of that state." ¶2. (C) MFA Myanmar Desk Officer Alexey Semenikhin told us on February 14 that the MFA statement was consistent with Russian policy to support the Burmese Roadmap as the best method for political reconciliation and democratization. He dismissed speculation that the regime may have timed the announcement of its next steps as a means to lessen either internal or external pressure following the 2007 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations. The Generals have been consistent in following their democratization plan, and the GOR has remained committed to supporting them. Semenikhin claimed that the reference to "certain countries" in the MFA statement was not a swipe at the U.S., but expressed the GOR view that attempts to isolate or punish the Burmese regime were counterproductive. ¶3. (C) Semenikhin rejected any suggestion that Burma's democratization exercise was stage-managed by the regime, or that failure to include opposition groups delegitimized the process. He said that the GOR had not pressed the Generals to release political prisoners or engage opposition groups. Semenikhin argued that Russia "understood there were some obstacles" to political reconciliation in Burma, but "most of the obstacles came from the National League for Democracy," claiming that the NLD had turned down the government's offer to participate in the political reform process. Finally, Semenikhin noted GOR concern over U.S. efforts to pressure Russia and other countries to take a harder line on the Burmese regime, reiterating Russia's familiar position that the "so-called Myanmar question" was an "internal matter." BURNS