India has urged Myanmar’s military junta to promote national reconciliation immediately and established talks with the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

According to the statement issued by the foreign ministry, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed India’s point of view on the ongoing scuffle between pro-democratic activists and military junta in Myanmar to visiting Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win. Both the leaders had met on Wednesday.

Earlier, India was under intense pressure from international community to use its influence on Myanmar’s military government after the violent military crackdown on peaceful pro-democratic agitations and rallies in the month of September. The Military government had also rejected the proposal to release Suu Kyi from jail.

For the first time since 90s, India had openly asked Myanmar military rulers in October to release 62-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been under house arrest for more ten years by the military rulers in Myanmar.

In the past decade, India developed mutual economic and military relation with military rulers in Myanmar. The military junta helped Indian government to restrict militancy near areas bordering both the countries. The government of India had reportedly shifted its policy from supporting Suu Kyi to engaging Myanmar’s military rulers in early 1990s to access Myanmar’s large natural gas reserves.

After September military crackdown, India had said that it has talked quietly to military junta but it couldn’t satisfy the pro-democratic groups in the country and the international community as well.

Manmohan Singh also restated India’s stand on the steps taken by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari for political reforms in Myanmar. According to the statement, PM Manmohan Singh stressed the need for greater urgency in bringing about political reforms and national reconciliation in Myanmar. This process had to be broad based to include all sections of society, including Aung San Suu Kyi and the various ethnic groups in Myanmar.

Nyan Win, during his visit, also had a meeting with Pranab Mukherjee and discussed about several steps to boost bilateral trade and for strengthening collaboration in Myanmar’s oil and gas sector.

India was great supporter of pro-democratic movements in Myanmar until mid years of 1990s. The government of India had criticized the military junta after the 1988 crackdown on pro-democratic protests. However, in the late 1990s, India changed the track for it’s own security interests in the northeast region. India started engaging the Myanmar military rulers in keeping the northeastern rebels under control at the joint border.