"Unfortunately, the West is trying to hold back political processes, trying to put the Myanmar leadership under more and more sanctions, while at the same time financing and arming the radical opposition. This is certainly not helping the cause," Lavrov said at a press conference following the Russia-ASEAN meeting and the ministerial meeting of the East Asia Summit in Laos.
ASEAN consists of ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. East Timor is preparing to become the eleventh ASEAN state in the near future.