Cambodia defends leader’s trip to Myanmar as ‘positive step’

By SOPHENG CHEANG and JERRY HARMER
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s foreign minister has defended Prime Minister Hun Sen’s trip to Myanmar, the first by a foreign leader since the military takeover plunged the country into turmoil, though there was little evidence the mission yielded any immediate breakthrough. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn told reporters that talks between Hun Sen and Myanmar’s military leader achieved a “very good, positive result with a progressive step forward” on the implementation of peace efforts agreed to by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc currently led by Cambodia. Hun Sen’s meeting with Myanmar’s ruler on Friday triggered protests in Myanmar and criticism abroad. Opponents say it legitimized the military takeover and broke the generals’ near-total diplomatic isolation.