The Myanmar regime’s security advisor and the Russian security council secretary met for consultations on security and military matters on Tuesday amid the junta’s humiliating military defeats on multiple fronts across the country.
The Consultations on Law Enforcement and Security between the regime’s Ministry of Home Affairs and the Security Council of the Russian Federation in Naypyitaw were led by junta security advisor cum Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Yar Pyae and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
Junta-controlled Myanmar state media reported that the two parties discussed bilateral military cooperation, military-technical cooperation, international information security, interaction between law enforcement organizations, sector-wide cooperation and the countries’ strategic cooperative partnership.
A junta news site reported that Lt-Gen Yar Pyae and Patrushev signed an MoU on Myanmar-Russia cooperation and regime Union Minister for Transport and Communications General Mya Tun Oo also signed an MoU on cooperation in international information security with the secretary. It did not provide further details on those agreements.
The junta’s consultations and MoU signings with Russia, one of its major arms sellers, come as the Myanmar regime reels from mounting losses amid successful offensives by ethnic armed groups and their allied resistance forces across the country, which began in late October.
So far, the regime has lost control of nearly 20 towns and over 300 outposts to the expanding resistance offensives. Hundreds of junta soldiers including entire battalions have surrendered.
While the Myanmar junta has been ostracized internationally for its coup against the country’s democratically elected government in 2021, Russia is one of the junta’s few international partners, along with China. Both have engaged with the junta militarily, economically and diplomatically, as well in arms sales and other areas.
However, the junta’s relations with China seem to have soured recently as the regime suspects Beijing is supporting some ethnic armed groups near its border in the current offensives. To show its displeasure with China, the junta recently allowed its supporters to stage anti-China protests in Yangon, Naypyitaw and other cities.
In another sign of warming relations between the junta and Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed the Order of Alexander Nevsky on regime chief Min Aung Hlaing, and the Order of Friendship on deputy junta chief Soe Win.
Patrushev presented the honors to the duo in Naypyitaw on Monday.
The junta boss earlier received an honorary professorship from Russian Military University and an honorary doctorate from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The Order of Alexander Nevsky was bestowed for Min Aung Hlaing’s “valuable endeavours to develop multi-sectoral cooperation with Russia,” according to junta media.
