U.S., Myanmar to meet in New York on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Myanmar plan to open a dialogue on Tuesday at a meeting in New York that U.S. officials hope may ultimately move the southeast Asian country's military rulers toward democracy.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell plans to meet U Thaung, Myanmar's minister of science, technology and labor, said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Previewing a U.S. policy review on Myanmar, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week said Washington would pursue deeper engagement with Myanmar's military rulers to try to spur democratic reform but will not ease sanctions for now.

While acknowledging economic sanctions had failed to bring about change in Myanmar, Clinton said Washington had concluded that it had to maintain them while enhancing its dialogue with the isolated Southeast Asian nation.

Myanmar plans next year to hold its first election in two decades, which the junta says will bring an end to almost five decades of unbroken military rule. Many analysts suspect the generals will still hold the real power.

Washington has gradually tightened sanctions on the generals who rule the country, formerly known as Burma, to try to force them into political rapprochement with Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Monday, Campbell told reporters that Washington would continue to press for the release of Suu Kyi along with other political prisoners, and would take a "measured approach" to Myanmar's scheduled 2010 elections.

"We are skeptical that the elections will be either free or fair, but we will stress to the Burmese the conditions that we consider necessary for a credible electoral process," he said.

In February, Clinton raised expectations the United States might lift some of its sanctions when she announced the Obama administration was reviewing its policy toward Myanmar.

However, U.S. officials have made clear they wanted to see progress on democratic reforms before moving to drop sanctions and have suggested further targeted sanctions could be imposed if the situation in Myanmar takes a turn for the worse.