By Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrew Osborn
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s President Vladimir Putin hailed expanding ties with ally Myanmar at talks with its military junta chief on Tuesday and thanked him for gifting Moscow six elephants.
Military analysts have dubbed the present, which coincided with Russia’s completing delivery of six fighter jets to Myanmar, as part of “elephant diplomacy” between two governments viewed dimly in Western capitals.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since 2021 when its military ousted the administration of Nobel peace prize winner leader Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a civil war.
“This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the declaration on the foundations of friendship between our countries,” Putin told Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s prime minister, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
“Relations between our countries are indeed developing steadily,” he added, noting bilateral trade rose 40% last year.
The two sides signed an agreement on construction of a small-scale nuclear plant in Myanmar. Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear power corporation, said the plant would have a capacity of 100 megawatts with the possibility of trebling that capacity.
Putin also announced that a military unit from Myanmar would take part in the military parade in Moscow on May 9 marking the 80th anniversary of the World War Two victory over Nazi Germany. He said Min Aung Hlaing would also attend.
Like China, Russia backs Myanmar’s military and is developing cooperation, including between their air forces.
“And of course, I cannot but thank you for your very warm gift: you brought us six elephants last year, and they have already been given to the Moscow Zoo,” Putin said.
Min Aung Hlaing, 68, who rarely travels abroad, praised the quality of Russian military hardware his nation receives and said he supported Putin in the Ukraine war where he believed Moscow would soon be victorious.
ALLIES
The junta is struggling with internal conflict, an economy in tatters, widespread hunger and a third of the nation’s 55 million people in need of aid, according to the U.N.
Russia was one of the first countries to back the junta after the 2021 coup when it was being condemned around the world for using lethal force against opponents.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said he saw good prospects for expanding cooperation in areas including agriculture, nuclear energy, transport and infrastructure.
“Despite the illegitimate sanctions against Russia and Myanmar, our trade and economic cooperation is developing successfully, and mutual trade is growing,” Mishustin said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Russian companies plan to invest in Myanmar’s special economic zone in Dawei, Mishustin said, without naming firms. The long-delayed Dawei project on the Andaman Sea is intended to be a major hub for industry, technology and transport.
Russia and Myanmar have long been talking about building a small nuclear power plant in Myanmar.
The junta plans an election this year, but critics deride that as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Additional reporting by Martin Petty; Writing by Andrew Osborn in London; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Ron Popeski, Alexandra Hudson)
