VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai affirmed in Jakarta on Tuesday that Bangkok's initiative to hold three meetings with the Myanmar junta constituted an alternative approach to resolving the crisis in Myanmar.

The approach does not violate the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN ) Leaders' Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus document, Minister Pramudwinai underlined.

He referred to Article 14 of the document, which was released after the 2022 ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and states, "ASEAN shall consider exploring other approaches that could support the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus."

"The first and second informal meetings, and also the third meeting we held fully comply with the Article 14 of the document, which is to try exploring other approaches," the minister said on the sidelines of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM).

Many parties, including ASEAN chair Indonesia, had criticized Thailand over its initiative to invite all ASEAN foreign ministers and representatives of the Myanmar junta to a meeting in June 2023.

In the end, the Laotian foreign affairs minister and Myanmar junta's representatives joined the meeting, while other ASEAN foreign affairs ministers stayed away.

Indonesia referred to the Thailand-initiated meetings, which involved only one party engaged in the Myanmar conflict, as a violation of the mandate laid down in the Five-Point Consensus.

However, Pramudwinai defended his country's initiative by putting emphasis on the informality of the meetings,saying he believed that the meetings were not held within the framework of ASEAN.

He also stressed that an inclusive dialogue involving all stakeholders in Myanmar constitutes "the only way to solve this problem." (Antaranews)