Myanmar's leader heads to Russia for talks with Putin

Myanmar junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing has left for Russia for his first official visit to the country since he assumed the presidency in April.

Russia will be the fifth country Min Aung Hlaing has visited since becoming president, with official trips to India, China, Laos, and earlier this month, Thailand.

The former general is the subject of a raft of western sanctions and has been on a quest for international legitimacy since winning a vote in parliament to become president, which came after an election dominated by an army-backed party in the absence of a viable opposition.

Min Aung Hlaing made four visits to Russia as junta chief, the first in June 2021 to attend a security conference, five months after seizing power in a coup.

He visited twice in 2022 and again in March 2025 when he held formal talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Russia is hoping to open up opportunities in Myanmar for its energy companies.

The two countries signed an agreement to construct a small-scale nuclear power plant in Myanmar when Min Aung Hlaing met Putin in 2025.

Russia and Myanmar signed a memorandum on investment cooperation for the strategically located Dawei Special Economic Zone in February 2025, including the construction of a port and an oil refinery.

Min Aung Hlaing's latest trip includes a Myanmar-Russia business forum.

Joining him will be the chief minister of the Tanintharyi region, where Dawei is located, and the head of Myanmar's aerospace agency, according to state media.

Defence ties have grown in recent years with Moscow providing army training and university scholarships to thousands of Myanmar soldiers, as well as selling arms to a military blacklisted by some western countries.

Russia also earlier this year said it would help to train Myanmar's first cosmonaut.