US President Donald Trump yesterday said the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire, as he sought to broker peace after three days of fighting along their border.
Thailand’s acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai thanked Trump and said Thailand ‘agrees in principle to have a ceasefire in place’ but ‘would like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side’.
Phumtham was responding in a Facebook post to a series of social media posts by Trump during a visit to Scotland. Trump said he had spoken to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Phumtham and warned them that he would not make trade deals with either if the border conflict continued.
“Both parties are looking for an immediate ceasefire and peace,” Trump wrote as he gave a blow-by-blow account of his diplomatic efforts.
Phumtham also said he had asked Trump “to convey to the Cambodian side that Thailand wants to convene a bilateral dialogue as soon as possible to bring forth measures and procedures for the ceasefire and the eventual peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
More than 30 people have been killed and more than 130,000 people displaced in the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in 13 years.
Before Trump spoke to the two leaders, Thai-Cambodian border clashes persisted into a third day and new flashpoints emerged as both sides said they had acted in self-defence in the dispute and called on the other to cease fighting and start negotiations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned by the clashes and ‘urges both sides to immediately agree to a ceasefire and to address any issues through dialogue’, Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement.
Haq said Guterres ‘condemns the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives’ and ‘remains available to assist in any efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the dispute’.
Trump offered no details on the ceasefire negotiations he said Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to hold.
&uuid=(email))