Myanmar President Thein Sein opened unprecedented talks with army top brass and political rivals including Aung San Suu Kyi Friday, as US President Barack Obama called for "inclusive and credible" elections in the country next year.
Mr Thein Sein and Mrs Suu Kyi walked into the meeting together to begin talks that are the first of their kind in the nation as it moves to emerge from decades of outright military rule.
Mrs Suu Kyi, who is constitutionally barred from running for president in next year's election, has been calling for a meeting with the president, commander in chief and parliament speaker for nearly a year to discuss the nation's political reform process. Until now, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate had been repeatedly rebuffed.
Few details were released about today's talks, but a news conference was expected to follow.
More than a dozen other political and party leaders are taking part, including military chief Min Aung Hlaing, who plays a crucial political role under the country's constitution and has veto power over constitutional amendments.