The UN Security Council held closed-door consultations on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the situation in Myanmar.

During the meeting, which was held at the request of France, some Council members expressed concern about the verdict made by a court in Myanmar to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi to 18-month house arrest, and called for reaction from the Security Council, a diplomatic source said.

No agreement was reached by the Council at the end of the meeting, the source added.

Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers, the Council president for August, told reporters that the Council will resume its discussions over the matter on Wednesday.

A military court on Tuesday sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, to three years in jail and hard labor for violating the terms of her house arrest. But the head of the State Peace and Development Council, Senior-General Than Shwe, reduced Aung San Suu Kyi's punishment to 18-month house arrest.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply disappointed" by the guilty verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The secretary-general strongly deplores this decision," the statement said. "The secretary-general urges the government to immediately and unconditionally release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to engage with her without delay as an essential partner in the process of national dialogue and reconciliation."

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)