Moscow | Russia on Tuesday rejected any idea of sanctions against the Burmese military junta, deeming them unnecessary and capable of leading to a “large-scale civil conflict” in this country, the scene of bloody repression.
“In the context of the current situation in Burma, the move towards threats and pressures, including the use of sanctions against the current authorities, is futile and extremely dangerous,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by the Interfax press agency.
“These arbitrary coercive measures are counterproductive and have a destabilizing effect on the system of international relations”, continued the Russian ministry.
Believing that sanctions “would push the Burmese people towards a large-scale civil conflict”, Moscow also announced its intention to continue for the moment its military cooperation with the junta.
“We are guided by the task of ensuring the continuity of the multifaceted Russo-Burmese cooperation, including at the military level,” the ministry said, while assuring that it “closely follows and analyzes current events” and ” will take this into account ”for its future cooperation.
China also rejected last week any idea of sanctioning the Burmese military who overthrew and arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
At least 560 civilians have been killed by security forces since the February 1 coup, but the toll could be much higher.
If the Kremlin expressed concern about the growing number of civilian casualties at the end of March, Russia at the same time sent a Russian Deputy Minister of Defense to Burma qualified on this occasion as a “reliable ally” with whom Moscow wants to “deepen” »Military cooperation.