A United Nations envoy on Tuesday met the chief of Burma’s military junta and held further talks with democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi in a hectic bout of “shuttle diplomacy” aimed at defusing political tensions.

After days of delays, Ibrahim Gambari, a special envoy despatched to Burma to try to prevent an escalation of violence, spent more than an hour with Senior General Than Shwe and other junta leaders, including Gen Maung Aye, the regime’s number two.