By Larry Jagan BBC Burma analyst

In an interview with the BBC, she said the generals must know that she and her party, the National League for Democracy, were prepared to co-operate with the army to improve the situation of ordinary people.

Aung San Suu Kyi said she remained upbeat about the country's political future, though she feared that its military leaders were just not ready to talk.

She said she thought that the top generals in the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) were simply pretending not to understand what she and her party have been saying.

Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest last year

"We have tried to make it very clear to the SPDC that we do not want to be the enemy, we do not want to look upon them as the enemy.

We are in opposition to each other at the moment, but we should work together for the sake of the country and we certainly bear no grudges against them and we are not out for vengeance. We want to reach the kind of settlement which will be beneficial for everybody, including the members of the military," she said.

She went on to say that the generals must understand that a dialogue is not a competition, but the only way to improve the situation for everybody.

The National League for Democracy, she said, remained ready to co-operate with the army in any way that would benefit the people, but it was the military that had repeatedly rebuffed their offer.

Sanctions

On the issue of whether the international community should strengthen economic sanctions in an effort to put pressure on the military regime to start talks, Aung San Suu Kyi said it was up to the countries concerned to decide for themselves whether this was appropriate.

But she insisted that the generals knew exactly what they needed to do if they wanted to prevent it - start concrete political talks with the opposition political parties and the ethnic groups.

A military spokesman, though, told the BBC that the international community should be more patient as the government was committed to political reform, but was progressing at its own pace.

Diplomats in Rangoon fear that Burma's military rulers have no intentions of talking directly with the opposition leader and are simply looking for ways to delay the dialogue process.

The UN's special envoy, Razali Ismail, has been trying for weeks to return to Rangoon to help restart the talks between the two sides.

However, so far the generals have resisted and it seems he will not be allowed back before the end of next month.

In the meantime, the international community is considering whether to adopt more targeted sanctions against Rangoon if there is no significant political progress in the next few months.