Thailand shares a long border with Myanmar and believes that talking with the country's military leaders is the best way to secure the release of political prisoners. Lawmakers in the United States favor harsh sanctions, although the Obama administration is reviewing a policy that officials acknowledge has failed.

Abhisit told an audience at Columbia University that "engagement is more productive than alienation and isolation."

He says the United States and European Union appear to be questioning the "thinking that more and more sanctions" will cause change. He did not elaborate.