AFP

Russia and China are frustrating the international response to the Myanmar crisis, a top European Union diplomat said Sunday, as the death toll from a military crackdown climbed past 700.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power on February 1.

International efforts to stem the violence have so far failed to yield results, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying Sunday it was "no surprise" that Russia and China were blocking efforts at the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo.

"Geopolitical competition in Myanmar will make it very difficult to find common ground, as we have witnessed again and again... but we have a duty to try," he wrote in a blog post.

Europe had become a major export market for Myanmar's garment industry in recent years, he said, suggesting the EU could offer to increase economic ties and investments if the country returns to a path of democracy.

"The Myanmar military is used to international isolation and has a decade-long record of ignoring the needs and the will of the country's citizens," he said.

© AFP