US Democratic Senator Jim Webb is to meet Burma's supremo Than Shwe later this week in the first high-level encounter between a senior US official and the junta strongman, Webb's office says.
"Later this week, US Senator Jim Webb is scheduled to meet with leaders at the highest levels of the national government in Burma, including Senior General Than Shwe," a statement from Webb's office said on Thursday.
"If the Shwe meeting takes place it will be the first time that a senior American official has ever met with Burma's top leader," it said, noting also that no member of Congress has visited Burma in over a decade.
Webb, who arrived in Laos on Thursday to kick off a two-week tour of Southeast Asia, is scheduled to visit Burma this weekend.
His visit comes after the Than Shwe regime was assailed by international outrage for extending democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another 18 months.
AFP
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