Marco Rubio has indicated optimism about the impending ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. Renewed fighting resulted in dozens of victims and mass displacements of the population.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope on Friday that Thailand and Cambodia will sign a renewed ceasefire early next week that will end the latest spate of clashes in the border region of the two countries. TASR took over the report from the AFP agency.
- Marco Rubio supported a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia.
- The reason for the conflict is a long-standing border dispute in Asia.
- The signing of the peace agreement was brokered by Trump and Ibrahim.
- Negotiations plan to continue over the weekend and at the ASEAN meeting.
- The conflict resulted in casualties and large-scale transfers of refugees.
“We’re working hard to get everybody back into compliance. And we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to do that by Monday or Tuesday of next week,” Rubio told reporters.
Border dispute
The long-standing border dispute between Southeast Asian countries turned into a five-day war in July. The ceasefire agreement was brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump, who was also present at the signing of a broader peace agreement in Kuala Lumpur in October.
Rubio spoke on the phone with his Thai business partner on Thursday and confirmed that the government will continue negotiations over the weekend.
Peace negotiations
“Both parties have agreed in writing to abide by certain commitments,” Rubio recalled. “These commitments are not being kept today because both sides blame each other, so the goal now is to bring them back to the negotiating table,” he added.
Renewed fighting between the neighboring countries has claimed at least 39 lives this month, including soldiers and civilians. According to the authorities, approximately 800,000 people had to leave their homes.
On Monday, a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will take place in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur, where they will discuss the crisis between Thailand and Cambodia.
