Thailand and Cambodia to hold conversations to end the mortal border dispute

Thai leaders and Cambodians will meet in Malaysia to talk to End border hostilities They have killed at least 34 people and displaced more than 168,000 in the last four days.

The conversations, announced by a spokesman for the Thai Prime Minister’s office on Sunday, after the pressure of President Trump to reach a fire.

Jirayu Huangsap said that interim prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai will attend Monday’s conversations in response to an invitation from the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, to discuss peace efforts in the region. “Anwar has been acting in his capacity as President of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations of this year.

The Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Sunday night on several social media platforms also confirmed his participation.

“I will lead Cambodia delegation to attend a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur organized by Malaysia, coorganized by the United States and with the participation of China,” he said. China is a nearby ally of Cambodia, and had at the beginning of the fight he urged the two nations to resolve their differences peacefully, but Hun Manet’s statement seemed to be the first to mention a Chinese link with the planned conversations on Monday.

Mr. Trump published in Truth Social on Saturday who spoke with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested that he would not advance with the commercial agreements with any of the countries if the hostilities continued. He later said that both parties agreed to gather to negotiate the fire.

The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet, said on the early Sunday that his country agreed to persecute a “immediate and unconditional fire.” He said Trump told him that Thailand had also agreed to stop the attacks after the conversation of the president of the United States with Phumtham.

He said he commissioned his vice president, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who coordinated the next steps with the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and that Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs is involved directly to implement the fire.

Rubio spoke with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday, urging them to discourage tensions immediately and tell them that the United States is ready to help with conversations, said the State Department.

“The Rubio Secretary reiterated the peace desire of President Trump and the importance of a high immediate fire,” said State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce, in a statement. “The United States is prepared to facilitate future discussions to guarantee peace and stability between Thailand and Cambodia.”

He struggle On Thursday he exploded after an explosion of land mine along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both parties blamed each other for starting the clashes and withdrawing their ambassadors. Thailand also closed his border crossings with Cambodia.

Despite the American diplomatic intervention, the fighting continued on Sunday along the parts of the disputed border, with the two neighbors again exchanging the guilt of the renewed bombings and the movements of the troops.

Colonel Richa Suksawanont, deputy spokesman for the Thai army, said the Cambodian forces had shot the heavy artillery to the province of Surin, even in the civil houses, on the early Sunday. He said that Cambodia also launched rocket attacks aimed at the old Temple Ta Muen Thom, claimed by both countries, and other areas in an attempt to claim territory insured by Thai troops. The Thai forces responded with long -range artillery, saying that they were pointing to Camboyan artillery and rocket launchers.

Thailand spokesman, Colonel Richa, said Trump’s efforts to mediate were a “separate matter.” The operations of the battlefield would continue, he said, adding that a stop the fire could only happen if Cambodia formally starts the negotiations.

“Any cessation of hostilities cannot be achieved, while Cambodia severely lacks good faith and repeatedly violates the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law,” said Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Cambodia, Lieutenant General Mally Scheata, accused the Thai forces of increasing violence with what he said was his bombardment of the Cambodian territory early Sunday morning, followed by what he called a “large -scale incursion” that involved tanks and terrestrial troops in multiple areas.

“Such actions undermine all efforts towards peaceful resolution and expose Thailand’s clear intention to intensify instead of decalizing the conflict,” he said.

Thailand reported on Sunday the death of a soldier, carrying the total number of deaths to 21, mostly civilians. Cambodia said that 13 people have been killed on their side. More than 131,000 people in Thailand have evacuated safe places and more than 37,000 people fled from three Cambodian provinces. Many border villages are mostly deserted, with many closed schools and hospitals.

The 800 kilometers (500 miles) border between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions exploded in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic crack and domestic policy of Thailand dragged.

• Thailand
• Cambodia