Thailand offers backing for Myanmar's bid to normalise ASEAN ties 

BANGKOK, Apr 22: Thailand wants to play a leading role in Myanmar's bid to normalise its ties with Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN after five years on the sidelines, the Thai foreign minister said ahead of a meeting on Wednesday with new President Min Aung Hlaing. 

Former military chief Min Aung Hlaing led a 2021 coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy in Myanmar and sparked chaos and a civil war, prompting an intervention by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the exclusion of the then ruling generals from its summits.

Min Aung Hlaing, 69, was chosen as president by parliament on April 3, formalising his grip on power after a recent election that was dominated by an army-backed party in the absence of viable opposition.

"We want to support their return to ASEAN. Our policy is to have steps in our interactions to bring them back," Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters.

"But certainly, for them to return to ASEAN, they must be able to proceed and respond to the concerns from ASEAN."- REUTERS