UN and Beijing hold talk on Burma

The meetings were part of wider consultations in the region on the situation in the juntaruled state, a spokesper¬son for the world body explained.

"This is a trip to discuss Burma with some of the key countries in the region," Marie Okabe, a UN spokesperson was quoted as saying by the UN News Service.

"Any effort to promote posi¬tive changes in Burma is going to require not only direct dia¬logue with the government and people but all interested coun¬tries and all who can potentially help support our efforts," she said.

Gambari met in Beijing with viceForeign Minister Dai Binguo, assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and direc¬torgeneral Wu Hailong.

Since being appointed spe¬cial adviser in May, Gambari has spoken with many on the situation in Burma and visited Washington DC two weeks ago. This week he travelled to the region.

He will continue efforts to pursue the release of political prisoners and promote demo¬cratic reforms, the UN said.

After talks in Beijing he will travel to New Delhi and then Tokyo for meetings with gov¬ernment counterparts before returning to New York over the weekend, Okabe added.

Gambari needs to give Burma his full attention if the UN has any hope of helping national reconciliation, he said. China is believed to be a central player in this goal.

There have been recent signs this may match Beijing's view and it is willing to discuss these matters privately with other countries, said an official at the United States State Department.

//The Nation