Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Washington in September

WASHINGTON – The White House says Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi will visit Washington in mid-September.

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes says he delivered a letter to Myanmar last week from President Barack Obama inviting Suu Kyi to visit. He says she accepted.

Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s foreign minister but also serves as its putative premier. That’s an arrangement designed to get around a military-imposed constitution that bars her from becoming president.

Obama has visited Myanmar twice as president and has met with Suu Kyi at her home there. His administration has placed an emphasis on shepherding Myanmar, also known as Burma, away from decades of harsh military rule and supporting its fledgling government.