But, again, I think it was very important to the President to have that conversation with her, in part to ensure that what we are doing is responsive to the dialogue we've had with the Burmese government, but it's also responsive to the views of democracy advocates, chief among them Aung San Suu Kyi.
The other thing I'd just point is that the issue -- my colleague mentioned it -- that really they did focus on, too, was this question of ethnic minorities, where there hasn’t been quite as much progress as there has been on other areas. So that's something that I think we'll continue to make sure we're raising in the context of these discussions.
But, look, we need to see -- as the President said today, there have been concrete actions taken. We wouldn't be taking this step if they had just made verbal pledges. This is in response to actual laws being passed through the Parliament, prisoners being released, changes being -- taking place within the country. But if those concrete actions don't continue, we won't be able to continue to build on a new relationship with the Burmese.
So we're taking a step forward here. It's a very significant step. It's a step that goes beyond U.S. government engagement for over 50 years. But at the same time, we're clear about the fact that they're going to have to continue to move down this track if we're going to fundamentally change our relationship.
Senior US administration official: And I would add, it's a step that helps ensure that they continue down that track by, as Aung San Suu Kyi called for, establishing very clear lines of communication, allowing us to speak directly and authoritatively to the leadership about our views about what the future steps ought to be.
The President consulted with Aung San Suu Kyi directly on the significance of the steps thus far, and she emphasized the importance she placed on the U.S. showing the Burmese leaders that their actions -- their positive, constructive actions -- will generate positive responses by the international community, and by the U.S. in particular.
Q: When the President came into office, one of his signature foreign policy approaches was reaching out to adversaries, but it's clear that he pursued a cautious approach on Burma. And I'm wondering if you can maybe give a little context for why that is, and if you could tie that in to sort of the events, the timeline of -- that you explained of how this came about.
Senior US administration official: Well, I'd just say one thing, and then these guys may want to say something. I mean, I think the approach the President made out is that we were always going to be open to engagement, but also we're going to be clear-eyed about how we approach engagement. The line from the inaugural was, if you unclench your fist, you'll find an extended hand. And I think what we see now is a gradual unclenching of the iron fist that has ruled Burma for so many years. And we are being responsive to that. Our engagement has helped encourage that by laying out these specific steps. And we're going to continue to use our engagement to reinforce that.
So I think we've maintained the pressures that we have in place. There are still robust sanctions on Burma. They still face a great deal of isolation. But at the same time, we've always been open to pursuing an engagement track as well, and now that that has begun to yield demonstrable progress, we are taking a step to be responsive to that.
Q: Could you just talk a little bit about what exactly Secretary Clinton is going to do, where she's going to go, and just a little bit more about what that December 1st trip will look like? Is it a one-day trip, or is it --
Senior US administration official: It will be two days.
Senior US administration official: If you would allow, I think what we'd like to be able to do is sort of get the story out -- its reasons. We will, early next week, lay out a very clear schedule. I will just simply say that she's going to talk to the key stakeholders. She will be meeting with the President. She'll have a chance for extended sessions with Aung San Suu Kyi and elements of civil society.
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