Myanmar’s junta leader attends military conference in Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) — The leader of Myanmar’s military junta has attended an international conference in Moscow, an appearance that reflects Russia’s eagerness to develop ties with the junta despite international criticism. The military in Myanmar ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, claiming her party’s landslide victory in an election last November came from massive voter fraud. It has not offered evidence for that claim. Myanmar’s security forces have brutally suppressed widespread popular protests against the military takeover, killing hundreds of protesters and carrying out waves of arrests. The junta’s leader claimed in Wednesday’s speech at the Moscow conference that it was trying to consolidate a democratic system that has “degraded.”