SINGAPORE — President Barack Obama’s historic meeting with a top Myanmar leader Sunday raises the stakes on both sides to show progress in their recent diplomatic thaw.

Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves a hotel after meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Nov. 4.

In a meeting here with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein and other Southeast Asian leaders — the highest-level summit involving U.S. and Myanmar officials in decades — Mr. Obama personally demanded that the country release famed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, White House officials said.

But Mr. Obama failed to secure any mention of political prisoners in a communique issued by the meeting’s participants afterward. That failure disappointed dissidents who were hoping the president’s involvement would encourage Southeast Asian leaders to take a harder line on Myanmar’s junta, which is accused of widespread human-rights abuses but remains a trading partner with much of the region.

The failure to single out Ms. Suu Kyi was “another blow” to dissidents who want more pressure on the regime, said Soe Aung, a spokesman for the Forum for Democracy in Burma, a Thailand-based organization. “We keep saying again and again that the U.S. should not send a mixed signal to the regime.”

U.S. officials had taken pains to reduce expectations for the meeting, which occurred between sessions at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and was part of a new initiative by the Obama administration to increase interaction with the Myanmar government. The U.S. imposes stiff sanctions on the country, also known as Burma.
Aung San Suu Kyi

Take a look at major events in the life of famed dissident Aung San Suu Kyi.

Many analysts view those sanctions as a failure as Myanmar has expanded trade with China and other Asian nations, and U.S. officials now believe they can have more influence over the country’s leaders if they talk with them more regularly. U.S. officials have stressed they believe any results could be long in coming.

But criticism from dissidents will likely intensify if results aren’t seen soon, increasing the pressure on U.S. officials to show progress or walk away.

“I think there is a need for some gestures now” from the Myanmar side, or the U.S. might have to scale back its re-engagement with the regime, said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Australia. He called the meeting “very disappointing” because of the failure of Southeast Asian nations to follow Mr. Obama’s lead and press for Ms. Suu Kyi’s release.

Myanmar’s military has controlled the country since 1962 and has presided over an economy that remains one of Asia’s least developed. The regime plans to hold elections next year, the first since 1990, in a bid to boost its international reputation. But the U.S. and others contend that the results can’t be fair unless Ms. Suu Kyi and her supporters — who won the last vote — are allowed to participate.

Some analysts believe the regime will respond to the U.S. overtures, though it is unclear what they could offer that would satisfy U.S. officials and human-rights advocates.

The most powerful gesture would be the release of Ms. Suu Kyi. Although most analysts consider such a move unlikely, rumors have circulated in recent weeks that a deal could be in the works. A director-general in Myanmar’s foreign ministry told the Associated Press last week that the regime is developing a plan to set her free, but the report wasn’t confirmed by other sources and it wasn’t possible to reach other Myanmar officials, who rarely speak to the foreign media.

Any deal to release Ms. Suu Kyi would almost certainly come with strict conditions, analysts have said, including limitations on her political activities in the run-up to next year’s vote. It is also possible the regime could offer other steps, such as allowing election monitors into the country next year. But that wouldn’t guarantee free and fair elections.

Many dissidents believe any cooperative gesture by Myanmar should be viewed skeptically or rejected. In past years, it has taken steps to please Western governments only to reverse them later.