Trump sends letter to Thai PM on border conflict with Cambodia
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Mr Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand was ready to negotiate if Cambodia withdrew heavy weapons from border areas, removed landmines and cracked down on internet scammers.
PHOTO: AFP
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BANGKOK - US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Thailand’s Premier saying he wanted to see the country and neighbour Cambodia resolve simmering border tensions, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Oct 9.
The remark came a day after the Thai Premier appeared to brush off a continued role for Mr 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
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire
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,” Mr Anutin told reporters on Oct 9 in Bangkok.
“I will reply to him with our position... and if Cambodia follows them, Thailand is ready to follow the process,” Mr 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 Oct 8, when asked if Cambodia’s nomination of Mr Trump for a Nobel Prize would put Phnom Penh in a favoured position, Mr 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, Mr Anutin added, “the mediator is on another continent”. AFP
