Webb to meet with Myanmar premier

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., says he has accepted a U.N. invitation to meet with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein in New York.

Webb, in a statement Monday, said Sein's appearance at the United Nations General Assembly marks the first time in 14 years that a Burmese official of his rank has come to the international body, and that he was due to deliver a speech before the Assembly Monday.

Webb, chairman of the Senate's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, said the invitation to meet with Sein came from U.N. Under-Secretary-General Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed.

"I appreciate Ambassador Reed's initiative in arranging this meeting, and I look forward to continuing the dialogue with Prime Minister Tein Shein that was begun last month," said Webb, who earlier met with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win to discuss bilateral relations.

Reed says he favors a comprehensive re-evaluation the effectiveness of U.S. policies toward Myanmar, including U.S.-imposed economic sanctions that he says have not been matched by other countries.