The two appeared together outside Aung San Suu Kyi’s home, where they discussed the law that would prevent her from being president.
President Barack Obama held a news conference Friday with pro-democracy and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to Myanmar.
The pair met privately before speaking to the press outside her Yangon lakeside home, in which she spent almost 15 years under house arrest.
The country – which had been ruled by a military junta for five decades — embarked on widespread political and economic reforms two years ago, which were seen as a big foreign policy achievement for President Obama.
However, two years on, the reforms have stalled, and the country's parliament is still largely filled with members of the military.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Suu Kyi dismissed rumors of tensions between her National League for Democracy party and the U.S.
She said: "I would like to make it quite clear that the friendship between the United States and those who have been struggling for democracy in Burma is a very strong one."
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
The pair briefly met in the country's new capital Naypyitaw, but had more in-depth discussions about flagging political reforms during their meeting Friday.
She said that the reform process is going through a "bumpy patch", but that this was "something we can negotiate with commitment and with help and understanding and with help from friends all over the world."
"Let us not exaggerate the differences and difficulties, but let as not exaggerate the rosy picture either," she added.
President Obama said: "Much hard work remains to be done and many difficult choices still lie ahead. The process for reform is by no means complete, or irreversible."
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
The pair also addressed the law that bars Suu Kyi from becoming President of Myanmar.
Without specifically naming Suu Kyi, President Obama said: "I don't understand a provision that would bar someone from being president because of who their children are – that doesn't make much sense to me."
"From the point of view of democracy, it is not right to discriminate against one particular person," Suu Kyi said.
Many believe the law was specifically written to prevent the popular Suu Kyi becoming president.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
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