Hanoi (VNA) - Foreign ministers of the ten ASEAN member states convened an informal meetingvia videoconference on 🔜March 2 to discuss the political crisis in Myanmar.

The Japanesenews agency Kyodo quoted a senior official from an ASEAN member country as sayingthat all 10 foreign ministers are attending, including Myanmar’s military-appointedForeign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin. Brunei, which holds the rotating chairmanshipof ASEAN this year, organised the meeting under the auspices of Indonesian ForeignMinister Retno Marsudi and Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnansaid on March 1 that despite ASEAN’s core principle of consensus and non-interference,ASEAN can still play a constructive role in hopefully facilitating a return to normalcyand stability in Myanmar. During an informal meeting of the UnitedNations General Assembly on February 26, Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to theUN, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, called on parties in Myanmar to exercise self-restraint,avoid escalating tensions, and conduct dialogue towards reaching a satisfactorysolution in line with the Constitution and law as well as public aspirations. In his opinion, the international communityneeds to create favourable conditions for the transition to democracy in Myanmarand respect the principles of independence, national sovereignty, and non-interferencein countries’ internal affairs while ensuring safe and humanitarian access to keyservices for Myanmar’s people, especially vulnerable groups. He stressed that Vietnam wants Myanmarto return to stability soon, for the sake of its development as well as for peace,stability, and cooperation in the region and for ASEAN Community building./.