'We came in through democratic elections, so I am not thinking of resigning at all,' he said in an interview with Reuters in Lima after a Pacific Rim economic summit.

'I will exercise restraint to the utmost. We have to talk and try for reconciliation,' said Mr Somchai, who added that he saw no need to use stronger measures to quell the protests.

Mr Somchai spoke in Lima as thousands of anti-government protesters began marching to parliament in Bangkok on Monday, calling it the 'final' push in their five-month campaign to unseat the administration.

'If the government is going to be ousted, it should be by the parliamentary election or by the people in a ballot,' he said, speaking in Thai through an interpreter.

Mr Somchai dismissed talk of a military putsch as a result of the standoff, saying 'the military themselves have confirmed many, many times that there will not be a coup.'

He likewise played down the economic impact of the political turmoil, saying a bigger worry for Thailand was the global financial crisis that was the main topic of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

'What has happened in Thailand at the moment is very small scale - one little spot in Bangkok itself. It does not destroy or affect much our economic basis,' said Mr Somchai. -- REUTERS

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