BANGKOK – The leader of Myanmar’s military-installed government has launched an official visit to the Russian Federation, with a scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin focused on expanding bilateral connections and strategic collaboration between the two nations, Myanmar state media has confirmed.
Min Aung Hlaing, who was inaugurated as Myanmar’s president in April, left the country’s capital Naypyitaw on Monday morning alongside a delegation of cabinet members. According to the state-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), the delegation will hold discussions with Putin and other senior Russian leadership across a wide range of areas, including diplomatic relations, economic cooperation, security collaboration, and social policy coordination.
Moscow, alongside Beijing, stands as one of the most prominent international backers and primary arms suppliers to Myanmar’s junta. Media and conflict monitors have documented that Russian-manufactured fighter jets have been deployed in strikes against territory controlled by Myanmar’s ethnic minority armed groups, many of which align with pro-democracy resistance movements fighting the military government.
This trip is not the first meeting between the two leaders: Min Aung Hlaing previously held discussions with Putin on the sidelines of Moscow’s World Atomic Week Forum last September. To date, Putin has not conducted an official visit to Myanmar.
The Russian trip marks the seventh visit Min Aung Hlaing has made to Russia since the military, which he commanded at the time, seized control of the country from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It is also the latest stop in a string of foreign visits that have already taken him to regional neighbors including China, India, Laos, and Thailand. These trips are part of a broader push by the junta leader to secure greater international recognition and rebuild Myanmar’s diplomatic standing after the 2021 coup.
Despite this outreach, Min Aung Hlaing’s government remains widely sidelined in the global community. Western nations have imposed sweeping economic and political sanctions on the military leadership in response to the coup and its violent crackdown on opposition, which has killed thousands of civilians and sparked an ongoing nationwide civil conflict.
In addition to his high-level diplomatic talks, MRTV confirmed that Min Aung Hlaing will also take part in a bilateral Myanmar-Russia Business Forum during his visit, a move intended to boost cross-border commercial ties between the two countries.
The two nations have already built out a range of collaborative agreements beyond arms sales. They have conducted joint military exercises, signed a deal to develop nuclear energy infrastructure in Myanmar, and established cooperation on human spaceflight initiatives, including plans to select and train Myanmar’s first ever cosmonaut. On the global stage, Russia has repeatedly defended Myanmar’s military government in multilateral international forums, while the junta has consistently aligned itself with Moscow’s foreign policy priorities.