Hanoi – European and Asian foreign ministers meeting in Hanoi Tuesday adopted statements condemning North Korea’s test of a nuclear weapon and expressing concern over the detention of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Representing the European Union, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout congratulated the closing session of the gathering of foreign ministers of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) for moving “swiftly and resolutely” to deal with the North Korean and Myanmar situations.
“We all agreed that the test is a clear violation of the six-party negotiations and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” Kohout said.
A joint ASEM statement issued earlier in the day urged North Korea not to conduct further tests and to return to the six-party talks over denuclearization.
Kohout also noted bilateral talks between the EU and Myanmar on Monday, in which the EU expressed concern over Suu Kyi’s detention and over the prospects for planned national elections in 2010.
“San Suu Kyi is an indispensable partner in a dialogue leading to a mutual reconciliation in Burma/Myanmar,” Kohout said. “She should be released immediately and the Burmese government should engage in an inclusive dialogue with all local political and ethnic groups.”
In contrast to Kohout, the two Asian ministers whose speeches closed the conference, Neelakantan Ravi, secretary of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, scarcely mentioned the North Korean and Myanmar resolutions.
The text of the joint resolution on Myanmar has not yet been made public. (dpa)
