Suu Kyi meets with Germany's Merkel in Berlin, voices hope for 'truly democratic' Myanmar

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, welcomes Myanmar Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, for a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, April 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Myanmar Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi are talking about the view from the chancellery prior to their meeting in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, April 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The Associated Press)

Myanmar Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi briefs the media prior to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the chancellery in Berlin, Thursday, April 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (The Associated Press)

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is discussing Myanmar's future with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, a city Suu Kyi describes as a symbol of success in achieving unity.

Merkel said she planned to discuss how Germany can help "open the way to a better future for people in Myanmar" at Thursday's meeting with Suu Kyi, the first face-to-face encounter between the two. Suu Kyi also met Germany's largely ceremonial President Joachim Gauck, who recently traveled to Myanmar, at the start of a several-day visit.

Nobel Peace prize laureate Suu Kyi spent years under house arrest under Myanmar's previous military regime. She said once-divided Berlin symbolizes how people and different ideologies can be unified and expressed hope that Myanmar can be turned into "a truly democratic union."