Myanmar leaders' return to ASEAN meetings 'still far off,' envoy says

Lazaro indicated that ASEAN will develop benchmarks to measure progress on the peace roadmap. Failure to meet these benchmarks would be considered non-compliance. She also noted that it is uncertain whether she will be granted access to detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi during a planned humanitarian mission later in the year. The bloc had previously barred Myanmar's leadership from its top meetings due to their failure to implement the roadmap, which calls for dialogue, a cessation of hostilities, and humanitarian access.

Adding to the complexity, Myanmar's pro-military parliament recently passed a motion rejecting the five-point consensus, characterizing it as interference. Min Aung Hlaing, the former top general who launched the 2021 coup, had initially agreed to the plan with ASEAN in April 2021.