Key ASEAN members skip Thai-hosted Myanmar talks amid criticism

BANGKOK, June 18 (Reuters) - Thailand's caretaker government was set to host the foreign minister of Myanmar's ruling junta at informal regional peace talks on Sunday, but key Southeast Asian counterparts were staying away from the meeting that has drawn sharp criticism.

Only Cambodia has so far officially confirmed it intended to attend the talks.

Myanmar's generals have been barred for nearly two years from senior-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for failing to honour an agreement to start talks with opponents linked to the ousted civilian government that had been led by now-jailed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

But Thailand, whose prime minister himself first took power in a military coup, invited Myanmar's junta-appointed Foreign Minister Than Swe to the talks along with other foreign ministers in the 10-member ASEAN bloc, two sources with knowledge of the meeting told Reuters.

Myanmar's junta spokesman could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Thailand's foreign ministry was tight-lipped about exactly who was attending the hastily called two-day gathering in the resort town of Pattaya, for which outgoing Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai sent invitation letters just four days before its planned start.

Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson Natapanu Nopakun said on Sunday morning he had "no information" on...
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