Myanmar coup: Rudd backs Asean talks with the military

The former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has backed talks between Myanmar's military and Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi.

The meeting agreed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) was criticised by some in Myanmar, also known as Burma, because it was seen to give legitimacy to the military regime.

But Mr Rudd told BBC World News the criticism was not valid.

He said: "The international community has a responsibility now, as does Asean, to convey a crystal clear message to the Myanmar military that if they act with large scale violence or any level of violence against the citizens of Myanmar, this will result in massive international action against them.

"So you must find a means by which to communicate that effectively and clearly to the Burmese military."