Barack Obama says US prepared to lift sanctions on Myanmar

Washington: US President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday after meeting with Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi that the United States is prepared to lift some sanctions on the southeast Asian country.[caption id="attachment_3003488" align="alignleft" width="380"] File photo of Obama. AP[/caption]"The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time," he said, speaking in the Oval Office with Aung San Suu Kyi at his side.Earlier on Wednesday, Obama moved to restore trade benefits to Myanmar that had been suspended more than two decades ago amid rights abuses.In a letter to Congress — timed to coincide with Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to the White House since winning a historic election — Obama said Burma should be able to benefit from preferential tariffs for poor countries under the Generalised System of Preferences.