NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar -- (UPDATE 2) Myanmar has agreed to allow "all aid workers" to stage a relief effort for cyclone survivors, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said after meeting junta leader Than Shwe here on Friday.

After meeting with the general for more than two hours, Ban told reporters: "He has agreed to allow all aid workers."

Asked if the agreement marked a breakthrough, Ban said: "I think so."

Than Shwe, who refused to take Ban's phone calls after Cyclone Nargis hit three weeks ago, had previously refused to allow foreign aid workers to stage a full-scale relief effort after the storm left 133,000 dead or missing.