US officials say Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has spoken by phone with Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi about the Rohingya Muslim refugee crisis.
Tillerson is not known to have spoken to Suu Kyi before.
The officials said the call occurred today. They requested anonymity as they weren’t authorized to discuss it.
Myanmar is facing international condemnation for its treatment of the minority group.
More than 400,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh in the last three weeks amid a military crackdown following attacks by Rohingya insurgents.
A senior State Department official says Tillerson urged Suu Kyi to grant access to UN monitors. Tillerson also asked if the US could provide assistance.
Top UN officials have described the current crackdown as ethnic cleansing.