WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Mitch McConnell issued a strong call Thursday for Myanmar to amend its constitution to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to run for president and for the military to submit to civilian rule.

The Senate’s Republican leader has for years been the most influential voice in Congress on policy toward the country also known as Burma. A longtime critic of the former ruling junta, he’s become supportive of the nation’s shift from military rule since 2011.