The president of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, who took command after a military coup in 2021, has left the country for Russia this Monday, where he is scheduled to meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in a meeting aimed at "consolidating" the "long friendship" between both nations.
The presidential office has confirmed the trip through a statement specifying that this is the first foreign trip since he was officially named president last April, following controversial elections that the international community and several organizations denounced for numerous episodes of fraud.
During his stay in Moscow, the Russian capital, Hlaing aims to "consolidate the relationship" between the two countries, which he has described as "close," as well as "improve strategic cooperation," with special attention to the areas of security and economy.
Russia is among the small group of states that have maintained their support for the Myanmar authorities that emerged from the 2021 coup, which ended the government of the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, Myanmar has been going through a deep humanitarian crisis in the context of an armed conflict that has caused thousands of deaths.