Myanmar ? Donor nations said they were ready to provide Myanmar with more than $100 million to help it recover from Cyclone Nargis but warned the ruling junta Sunday they will not fully open their wallets until they are provided access to the hardest-hit areas.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking to The Associated Press after a one-day meeting of 51 donor nations, said he believed a turning point had been reached in getting Myanmar’s isolationist junta to allow foreign aid workers unhindered entry into the devastated Irrawaddy delta.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that this could be a turning point for Myanmar to be more flexible, more practical, and face the reality as it is on the ground,” Ban told the AP.

But Myanmar’s leaders – and potential donors – continued to take a guarded tone.

Myanmar’s prime minister, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, said international aid “with no strings attached” was welcome. But he hedged on the sensitive issue of direct access, saying only civilian vessels could take part in the aid operation, and they would have to go through Yangon.