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Moscow calls for quick settlement of Myanmar’s ethnic conflict

On Thursday, the third UN General Assembly committee adopted a resolution urging Myanmar’s authorities to stop military operations in Rakhine State

MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Russia supports quick settlement of the crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and support of the UN and the global community in this process, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"We believe it is necessary to use any possibility to activate the UN intermediary efforts and strive for constructive involvement of the government and representatives of all Myanmar’s nationalities and communities in the settlement of this old and complicated crisis, and for the global community to effectively support it," says the document published on the ministry’s website.

The ministry assessed the current regional situation as "stable." "The situation in the sphere of security in the north of Rakhine State has generally stabilized," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.

On Thursday, the third UN General Assembly committee adopted a resolution calling on Myanmar’s authorities to stop military operations in Rakhine State, as well as provide access for international organizations to the region to offer humanitarian help to the population. The document prepared by Egypt was approved by a majority of votes. Russia was one of the 10 countries that voted against it, along with Belarus, China and Syria. The resolution was backed by 135 countries, 26 abstained from the vote and about 20 more did not participate in it.

The situation in Rakhine State densely populated by Rohingya Muslims aggravated on August 25 when militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked 30 police centers. After that, the republic’s security force started a military operation in the region. According to latest information, 414 people were killed in the clashes, and 611,000 fled to neighboring Bangladesh.

Myanmar’s authorities consider the Rohingya people illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Religious conflicts regularly sparked in Rakhine, prompting clashes between Muslims and local Buddhists. Thousands of people suffered from violence in the recent years. On November 7, the UN Security Council made a statement calling on Myanmar’s authorities to stop excessive use of military force in Rakhine State in response to extremists’ attacks on August 25 that aggravated the situation in the region.