This handout image taken on January 31, 2022 by the Myanmar Military Information Team shows Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing speaking in the capital Naypyidaw. (Photo by Handout / MYANMAR MILITARY INFORMATION TEAM / AFP)
Moscow, Russia — Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing visited Moscow Tuesday, Russian media reported, as the US vowed to put pressure on his military regime over a 2021 coup.
Russia’s embassy in Myanmar told the Interfax news agency that Hlaing was in Moscow on a “private” visit.
“He plans to take part in the opening of a Myanmar cultural center,” it said.
Russian state media reported the military chief was also due to meet officials from Moscow’s space and nuclear agencies.
The announcement of the visit comes two days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed to keep pressuring Myanmar’s junta as he met democracy activists on a visit to neighboring Thailand.
Since seizing power in a coup February last year, Myanmar’s military government has detained thousands of pro-democracy protesters.