West seeks U.N. sanctions on Myanmar, China says "No"

By Evelyn Leopold and Paul Taylor

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday urged Myanmar to admit a top U.N. envoy immediately, but China immediately ruled out calls for sanctions or a U.N. condemnation of the ruling junta's use of force.

The United States and the 27-member European Union had asked the council to consider punitive measures and demanded that the junta in the former Burma open a dialogue with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic minorities.

"We believe that sanctions (are) not helpful for the situation down there," China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters.

While expressing concern at events, Wang said the situation in Myanmar did not "constitute a threat to international peace and security," the main mandate of the Security Council and the reason China in the past has prevented council action.

Council members, after an emergency session, "expressed their concern vis-a-vis the situation, and have urged restraint, especially from the government of Myanmar," said French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, the current council president.

"They welcomed the decision by the secretary-general to urgently dispatch his special envoy to the region and underline the importance that Mr. (Ibrahim) Gambari be received by the authorities of Myanmar as soon as possible," Ripert said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Gambari, a U.N. undersecretary-general, would leave for the region immediately while he waited for Myanmar to admit him.

A report by Gambari, particularly a negative one, would keep the issue before the council. China and Russia, which have friendly relations with the Myanmar authorities, in January vetoed a U.S.-drafted resolution calling on the junta to stop persecution of minority and opposition groups.