Washington is ready to boost ties with Myanmar but will not lift sanctions until there is progress on democracy. This was stated by a US diplomat today after the highest-level talks with the ruling Myanmar junta in years. <br/>US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and his deputy Scot Marciel held a rare meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Prime Minister Thein Sein during their two-day visit which ended yesterday. Marciel told a public forum in Bangkok that the US is willing to move ahead in terms of bilateral relations but only if there is real progress. The trip was a follow-up to highest level discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, in nearly a decade. Marciel stressed that the United States wanted to see the release of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, improvements in human rights and the pursuit of democratic reform ahead of elections promised by the junta in 2010.<br/>