Foreign minister from the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are deadlocked over whether Burma should take part in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) this year.
ASEAN wants its three newest members -- Burma, Laos and Cambodia -- to have seats at the October summit of Asian and European leaders in Hanoi in return for the participation of the 10 new EU candidate countries joining the bloc in May.
But the European Union, especially Britain, is opposed to Burma's entry unless its military rulers rapidly improve human rights conditions, including lifting restrictions on pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party.
Information for this report is provided by AFP.