British Foreign Secretary Meets Aung Suu Kyi In Myanmar

Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi (right) and British Foreign Secretary William Hague talk to reporters in Yangon.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has held talks with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on a landmark visit to Myanmar.

Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit Myanmar in over half a century.

Meeting in Yangon on January 6, Hague and Suu Kyi, who spent years in detention before she was freed in 2010, called for the release of all political prisoners as well as for free elections.

Myanmar was ruled by a military junta until elections in 2010 when a military-backed civilian government took over.

International leaders are cautiously renewing ties after the new government made some tentative steps towards reforming and opening up the country after decades of isolation.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Myanmar late last year and also met with Suu Kyi.

compiled from agency reports