The European Union and the United States praised Myanmar for its reported release of more than 600 political prisoners on Friday, in signs that the West is ready to start lifting sanctions against the Southeast Asian country.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc is closer to building "a new relationship" with the country, sometimes referred to under its old name, Burma.

"This is a courageous step and a further confirmation that the reform course chosen by the government of Burma-Myanmar continues," Ashton said in a statement. She also pointed to ceasefire agreements that were signed Thursday with three of the country's ethnic minority rebel groups.

The United States also praised the prisoner release, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing the US would reestablish diplomatic ties with the country. Last year Clinton made the first official visit by a US secretary of state in 56 years.

Khin Nyunt was removed from power with little explanation

US President Barack Obama called the prisoner amnesty "a crucial step in Burma's democratic transformation and national reconciliation process."

High-level dissidents free

Among those covered by the prisoner amnesties were several leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, which was behind the 1988 and 2007 anti-government protests, according to Win Htein, executive for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Other prominent prisoners released included former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, who was removed from office in 2004 by the then-ruling military junta.

A collection of ethnic minority leaders were also set free, such as Shan rebel leader Khun Tun Oo and Buddhist monk Shin Gambira, who led protests in 2007.

According to state TV, around 651 prisoners were released as part of the amnesty.

The release of political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and ethnic minority leaders has long been a precondition set by the international community for loosening sanctions on Myanmar, which have been in place since an army crackdown on protests in 1988 which ended in the killing of an estimated 3,000 people.

Reform drive

The nominally civilian government under President Thein Sein has taken significant steps since coming to power in 2010 elections to set the nation on a reform path.

The ethnic Karen has fought a decades-long war for autonomy

On Thursday, the government signed a ceasefire deal with major ethnic Karen group which had put up one of the world's longest-running civil conflicts for greater autonomy. Peace with Myanmar's minorities is also a precondition for the easing of Western sanctions.

Thein has also taken steps to open dialogue with democracy icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had spent the majority of the last 21 years under house arrest before her release in November 2010.

The next challenge for the country will be by-elections scheduled for April. The NLD was allowed to officially register for the elections after being declared illegal and ordered to disband by the junta ahead of the 2010 polls. Suu Kyi has indicated she will make a tilt at parliament in the elections.

Authors: Darren Mara, Andrew Bowen (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Editor: Nicole Goebel