U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told her Burmese counterpart that the military-ruled country is "out of step" on human rights issues.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Ms. Rice singled out Burma's Foreign Minister, Nyan Win, during talks with ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-ASEAN Monday ahead of a United Nations summit in New York.
He said the Secretary told Nyan Win the Burmese junta should undertake political and human rights reform. Mr. McCormick said he did not know how Burma's minister responded to Ms. Rice's criticism.
Washington has imposed sanctions on Burma since 2003 to protest its human rights record. And in July Burma was pressured into giving up its turn at the chairmanship of ASEAN because of concern about its human rights practices.
Information for this report is provided by AP,, AFP and Reuters.
