WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke by phone with Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a State Department spokesman said.
Clinton spoke by telephone with the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, marking the first high-level exchange in more than a decade.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told The Washington Post in an e-mail message that Washington was supportive of Suu Kyi's efforts at political reform in the military-controlled Myanmar.
"They talked briefly about what Aung San Suu Kyi has been doing since her release," he was quoted as saying. "(Clinton) indicated that, both through the Embassy in Rangoon and from Washington, we would have further conversations on specific ideas."
Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest last year in Myanmar, where she spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention.
Myanmar's newly elected Parliament is to meet for the first time Jan. 31. Western allies complained the military junta would remain in power despite November elections touted as opening the door to civilian leadership.
Suu Kyi won the previous election but the military refused to hand over power. She was released from house arrest Nov. 13 after seven years but was ineligible to run for Parliament because of her criminal record.
