United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand agreed to immediately gather to quickly elaborate a ceasefire after three days of combat along the border.
In a series of social networking publications during a visit to Scotland, Trump said he had talked to Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s interim prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai, and warned them that he would not make commercial agreements with any of Southeast Asian governments if the conflict at the border continued.
“Both parties are seeking a ceasefire and immediate peace,” Trump wrote as he made a detailed account of his diplomatic efforts.
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Before Trump talks to the two leaders, the confrontations on the border between Thailand and Cambodia continued on the third day and new focuses of tension emerged on Saturday, when both sides said they acted in self -defense in the border dispute and asked each other to stop fighting and start negotiations.
More than 30 people were killed and more than 130,000 people were displaced in the worst conflict among Southeast Asian neighbors in 13 years.
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According to both sides, there were clashes at dawn on Saturday in the Thai Coastal province of Trat and in the Cambodian province of Pursat, a new one against more than 100 km from other conflict points along the border has long been disputed.
The two countries have faced each other since the death of a Cambodian soldier in late May, during a brief skirmish. The troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a widespread diplomatic crisis that led the Thailand coalition government on the edge of collapse.
Until this Saturday, Thailand said seven soldiers and 13 civilians had been killed in the clashes, while in Cambodia five soldiers and eight civilians were killed, the Ministry of Defense spokesman Mlay Socheata said.
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After requests for containing both sides by Trump’s Senior advisers, he was directly involved on Saturday, talking to each leader and saying that he conveyed messages from side to side.
“They agreed to get together immediately and quickly elaborate a ceasefire and ultimately peace!” Trump wrote, saying the two countries wanted to return to the “negotiation table.”
Trump has been working on separate agreements with dozens of countries in response to his announcement of comprehensive imports on the US imports.
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“When everything is done, and peace is at hand, I hope to complete our trade agreements with both!” Said the US president.
Trump did not provide details about ceasefire negotiations.
The embassies of Thailand and Cambodia in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
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In Sisaket province, on the Thailand border, a university complex was converted into temporary accommodation, where a volunteer said more than 5,000 people were housed.
