BANGKOK: US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Thailand’s prime minister saying he wanted to see the country and neighbour Cambodia resolve simmering border tensions, Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday (Oct 9).
The remark came a day after the Thai premier appeared to brush off a continued role for Trump – who is chasing a Nobel Peace Prize – in any further negotiations between the two nations aimed at solving their border dispute.
Territorial tensions erupted in July into the deadliest military clashes between Cambodia and Thailand in decades, killing more than 40 people and forcing around 300,000 to flee their homes.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire – brokered in part by Trump – after five days of fighting, and have since repeatedly traded accusations of truce violations.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet later said he nominated the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize, crediting him with “innovative diplomacy” that ended the military clashes.
“President Trump has sent a letter to me expressing his wish to see both countries, Thailand and Cambodia, negotiate to find a solution to the conflict,” Anutin told reporters on Thursday in Bangkok.
“I will reply to him with our position … and if Cambodia follows them, Thailand is ready to follow the process,” Anutin said.
He said Thailand was ready to negotiate if Cambodia withdrew heavy weapons from border areas, removed landmines, cracked down on internet scammers and relocated its citizens from borderlands Thailand considers its own.
Cambodia has said its nationals have lived in the disputed border villages for decades.
On Wednesday, when asked if Cambodia’s nomination of Trump for a Nobel prize would put Phnom Penh in a favoured position, Anutin told reporters: “I only care about Thailand’s interests, the safety of Thai people and the nation’s sovereignty.
“If anyone wins the prize … good for them, but it is not related to what Thailand will do,” he said.
While Thailand and Cambodia shared a border, Anutin added, “the mediator is on another continent”.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/trump-letter-anutin-thailand-cambodia-border-conflict-5391556
