WASHINGTON/BANGKOK: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had spoken by phone with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, claiming both sides had agreed to halt border hostilities and return to a ceasefire he said he had brokered earlier this year.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he held “a very good conversation” with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet regarding what he described as the renewed flare-up of their long-running conflict. “They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the great PM of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump wrote, adding that both countries were “ready for PEACE and continued Trade with the USA.”
However, Trump’s assertion sharply contrasted with statements from Thai Prime Minister Anutin made just hours earlier. Anutin did not confirm any agreement to end the fighting, which entered its fifth consecutive day on Friday. Instead, he said he had urged Trump to press Cambodia to stop hostilities and remove landmines along the disputed frontier.
“I explained to President Trump that we are not the aggressor against Cambodia but are responding to their actions,” Anutin told reporters. “He wants a ceasefire. I told him that our friends must not just talk about a ceasefire, but clearly state that Cambodia will stop firing and remove all the landmines it has planted.”
Fighting between the two Southeast Asian neighbours has intensified along several points of their contested 817-kilometre (508-mile) border, with both sides exchanging rockets and artillery. The clashes mark some of the heaviest fighting since a five-day confrontation in July.
Amid the escalating tensions, Thailand’s parliament was dissolved on Friday, paving the way for fresh elections early next year. Prime Minister Anutin dissolved the House of Representatives after receiving approval from King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
