Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- China and Russia blocked U.S. and European efforts in the United Nations Security Council to condemn Myanmar's military-run government for its crackdown on protesters.

``We would have hoped for a very strong statement condemning what has happened, but the Security Council is made up of many members,'' U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters after the council held an emergency meeting on Myanmar. ``The U.S. position is to condemn what has happened.''

Instead, Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert of France, president of the Security Council this month, summarized the closed meeting by saying members of the panel ``expressed concern'' about the situation and urged ``restraint'' from the military government. It would have taken the agreement of all 15 member nations of the body for a formal statement.

Envoys from China and Russia, which have economic interests in Myanmar and are among the few countries with influence over the government, said they didn't think the situation was a threat to international or regional peace and security. That's the threshold for greater Security Council involvement.

China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted resolution in June that would have pressed the Myanmar government to free political prisoners and move toward democracy.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending his envoy for Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, back to the country and asked the military rulers there to ``exercise utmost restraint toward the peaceful demonstrations.'' Gambari briefed the Security Council before heading to the region without specific clearance by Myanmar's government to enter the country.

Show of Defiance

The protests are the biggest show of defiance against the junta since a pro-democracy uprising 19 years ago. That revolt was crushed when the army killed 1,000 protesters on Aug. 8, 1988, and an estimated 3,000 others in the weeks afterward, according to the U.S. State Department.

A 30-year-old man was shot dead today when security forces opened fire on a crowd, the Associated Press reported, citing the government.

President George W. Bush announced new sanctions against the military regime during a speech to the UN General Assembly yesterday. He urged all member states to use diplomatic and economic pressure to bring about democratic change there.

``The regime has reacted brutally to people who were simply protesting peacefully,'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in New York after meeting South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon.

She said Gambari should be given a visa immediately to visit Myanmar, formerly Burma, and be permitted to confer with opposition leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Rice Seeks `Reconciliation'

``We really do call on the regime to cease all violence and to lay a framework, lay a foundation for a peaceful discussion so that there can be reconciliation and a return to a more free and democratic life for the people of Burma,'' Rice added.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on French companies, including Total SA, Europe's third-largest oil company, to freeze investment in Myanmar. Sarkozy, speaking in a television interview, described the political situation there as ``extremely worrying.''

Myanmar and China have agreed on a project to build a pipeline to bring oil to southern China.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya called the developments ``a bit complicated'' and said sanctions wouldn't be helpful.

Gas Reserves

Myanmar, bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Laos, is slightly smaller than Texas and has a population of 47 million. It gained independence from the U.K. in 1948 and experienced persistent political and ethnic conflict until the military seized power and abolished the constitution.

The junta rejected the results of parliamentary elections in May 1990, won by Suu Kyi's League for Democracy, and suspended parliament. Suu Kyi, 62, has spent almost 12 years in detention since the election, and was last placed under house arrest at her home in Yangon in 2003.

International sanctions have stifled economic growth in the nation, which had proven natural gas reserves of 17.7 trillion cubic feet at the end of 2005, or 0.3 percent the world's total, according to BP Plc, and resources including teak, zinc, copper and precious stones.

Protests intensified last month after the regime doubled the cost of some fuels, making public transport unaffordable for many residents, Human Rights Watch said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 26, 2007 18:49 EDT