Sat Oct 6, 3:45 AM ET

UNITED NATIONS - Key UN powers stepped up calls for Myanmar to release political prisoners, after an envoy to the repressive state warned of "serious international repercussions" from the bloody turmoil there.

The United States signaled Friday it may push for UN sanctions if the ruling junta kept up a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, and western UN powers circulated a draft statement condemning its "violent repression."

"It is ... essential for Myanmar's leadership to recognize that what happens inside Myanmar can have serious international repercussions," the world body's special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, said in his first report to UN Security Council since his return Thursday from a visit to Yangon.

"No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards by which all members of the international community are held," he said.

Myanmar's rulers meanwhile broadcast rare footage of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on state television for the first time in at least four years.

They said they had freed hundreds of detained monks, and restored Internet access after a week -- but only during a military-imposed curfew, users reported. The steps appeared aimed at appeasing the international outrage over their crackdown.

Gambari told CNN International after meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi in her Yangon home that she had seemed "encouraged by the fact that the people of Myanmar spoke up."

"But now I think she wants this to be used as an opportunity to really engage in dialogue with the authorities so that together they can move the country forward," he said.

After a closed-door session with Security Council members, Gambari told reporters here Friday that there was a consensus among members that the status quo in the unrest-hit Southeast Asian country "is unacceptable and unsustainable and probably unrealistic."

He also said he was considering a return visit to Myanmar earlier than mid-November, as initially arranged, saying this would be useful "to keep the momentum" generated by his visit earlier this week, which offered "a window of opportunity."

The draft statement circulated late Friday to the council contained an appeal to the ruling generals "to ensure full and unlimited access for Mr. Gambari during his visit."

"The Security Council condemns the violent repression by the government of Myanmar of peaceful demonstrations, including the use of force against religious figures and institutions," said the text, drafted by the United States, Britain and France.

Gambari added that he was awaiting a "concrete" response from the military junta to his call for the release of political prisoners, humanitarian access to those in need, cessation of hostilities against ethnic minorities and for dealing with the underlying cause of discontent.

Taking a more hardline stance, the US ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad told the council Washington was prepared to introduce a sanctions resolution if the military rulers fail to cooperate with Gambari.

The United States has already slapped travel bans on the junta's top leaders and frozen their assets. But there was no indication that the council would consider a sanctions resolution any time soon.

China, which has close ties with Myanmar and favors constructive engagement with its military regime, warned putting pressure on the junta "would lead to confrontation."

China has already opposed past bids for UN sanctions, vetoing a US-sponsored draft resolution in January, along with Russia.

But Myanmar topped the UN agenda again after last week's pro-democracy protests, sparked by a hike in fuel prices, drew more than 100,000 people onto the streets of Yangon, prompting a violent crackdown and more than 2,000 arrests.

Authorities in Myanmar say 13 people were killed in the crackdown on the anti-regime protests, the largest the country has seen in almost 20 years.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed an offer by Myanmar's rulers to meet Aung San Suu Kyi if she drops her call for sanctions against the regime and urged.

The Nobel peace prize laureate, who has spent most of the past 18 years under house arrest, is a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party said she would consider the offer "in a positive light."

Protests against Myanmar's crackdown and in support of Aung San Suu Kyi were expected to take place around the world Saturday.

In one of the first rallies, hundreds of activists took to the streets in New Zealand. Later demonstrations were planned for Taipei, Delhi, Geneva, London, Lisbon and Ottawa.