Julie Bishop visits Moscow in role as UN special envoy for Myanmar
London: Julie Bishop has made a rare trip to the Kremlin, meeting senior Russian officials during a visit that underscores Moscow's growing influence in Myanmar and its central role in shielding the country's military regime from global pressure.
The former Australian foreign minister and current United Nations special envoy for Myanmar held talks with Kremlin figures. She posted photos to her Instagram last week from inside Russia's Foreign Ministry and Red Square – a striking image for a Western diplomat, given Russia's diplomatic isolation over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Bishop, who rarely speaks publicly about her role, declined to comment when approached by this masthead, only confirming the visit as part of her role in engaging key UN Security Council members on Myanmar's political and humanitarian crisis.
Russia is one of the junta's most powerful allies, supplying arms, vetoing UN resolutions, and expanding oil and gas co-operation. The Kremlin recently announced new strategic agreements with Myanmar's military, even as the regime continues its crackdown on political opponents, ethnic minorities, and pro-democracy forces.
In an address to the UN General Assembly earlier this month, Bishop warned that since the February 2021 coup, 'Myanmar has been in polycrisis with more than 14,000 civilian fatalities and 80,000 total fatalities recorded, more than 3.5 million internally displaced and over 100,000 houses torched.'
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She condemned the junta for continuing to 'fly airstrikes as part of its campaign against anti-junta forces and Myanmar's people, despite a ceasefire announcement,' and said the plight of the Rohingya had 'only worsened' since the military seized power.
'Those who have been forcibly deported from Myanmar face an uncertain future, with life-saving support to refugees significantly reduced, while Rohingya inside Myanmar face continuing persecution, displacement, and denial of human rights amidst an intensifying conflict,' she said.
She also warned that elections planned by the junta for December were aimed at whitewashing military rule.
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Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that Russia had never been a party to the convention "and is using anti-personnel mines with utmost cynicism" along with other weapons, including ballistic missiles. "This is a hallmark of Russian killers. To destroy life by all means at their disposal ... We see how our neighbours in Europe react to this threat," he said. "We also know the complexities of the withdrawal procedure when it is conducted during war. We take this political step and give a signal to our political partners on what to focus on. This concerns all countries that border Russia," he said. Anti-personnel mines, Zelenskiy said, are "often the instrument for which nothing can be substituted for defence purposes". Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in parts of Ukraine where its forces have been operating. Ukraine regards the clearing of such mines as a key element in post-war recovery. 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Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine in recent months, using significant superiority in manpower. Kostenko did not say when the issue would be debated in parliament. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he has signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Ottawa Convention banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines as a necessary step in view of Russian tactics in their 40-month-old war. Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005. Other countries bordering Russia, notably Finland, Poland and the three ex-Soviet Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - have either withdrawn from the convention or indicated that they would do so. Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that Russia had never been a party to the convention "and is using anti-personnel mines with utmost cynicism" along with other weapons, including ballistic missiles. "This is a hallmark of Russian killers. To destroy life by all means at their disposal ... 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