Then on 5 January, following Independence Day talks between representatives of 12 ethnic armed groups and President Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw,word emerged that Thein Sein had assured the delegation of his intention to facilitate a nationwide ceasefire agreement before the end of his term and expressed a wish to sign one by 12 February, the country’s Union Day, commemorating the founding of the Union of Burma in 1947.