Myanmar junta leader to visit Russia

 
Leader of Myanmar's military junta Min Aung Hlaing will travel to Russia next week for economic talks, state media in the Southeast Asian nation reported Saturday.Min Aung Hlaing's visit comes as both governments face diplomatic isolation -- Moscow for its February invasion of Ukraine, and Naypyidaw for a military coup last year, AFP reports.

He will attend the Eastern Economic Forum in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok, The Global New Light of Myanmar said.Representatives from China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan and other countries will also attend.The general will hold talks with Russian government officials to "further cement the cooperation" and friendly ties between the two countries' economies and governments, the report said.Since the putsch that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February last year, Myanmar has faced Western sanctions and a downgrade in relations.

Min Aung Hlaing is unlikely to be invited to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders' summit in Phnom Penh in November, with the bloc frustrated over a lack of progress on resolving the country's political crisis.Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed as the military regime struggles to crush resistance.More than 2,200 people have been killed in the crackdown, according to a local monitor.