Myanmar military junta leader arrives in Moscow for conference

Myanmar military junta chief arrived in Moscow on Sunday to attend a security conference. This marks his second known trip abroad since military coup in Myanmar.

Myanmar military toppled civilian government led by Aung Sab Suu Kyi in a coup on February 1

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing left the capital Naypyidaw Sunday on a special flight to attend the Moscow Conference for International Security, state-run MRTV said.

The report said that he was attending at "the invitation of Russian Defence Minister". It added that he had been "greeted" by the Russian ambassador to Myanmar at the airport.

The report didn't give details on how long he was expected to stay in Russia. It is an ally and a major arms supplier to the Myanmar military.

Myanmar's embassy in Russia later confirmed Min Aung Hlaing's arrival to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
"The commander-in-chief has arrived in Moscow," an embassy spokesperson was cited by the news agency as saying.

The junta's brutal crackdown on dissent has since killed at least 870 civilians, according to a local monitoring group.

In May local media reported the chief of Myanmar's air force attended a military helicopter exhibition in Moscow.

Min Aung Hlaing's visit comes after the UN General Assembly took the rare step on Friday of calling on member states to "prevent the flow of arms" into Myanmar.

(With inputs from agencies)