The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet in Malaysia on Monday for talks aimed at ending four days of deadly border clashes, a Thai official said, following pressure from US President Donald Trump to halt the fighting.
Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will attend the talks in response to an invitation from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss peace efforts in the region, Thai spokesperson Jirayu Hungsab said on Sunday.
He added that Phumtham’s Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, would also attend, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Cambodian side. Anwar Ibrahim was acting in his capacity as the head of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that State Department officials are in Malaysia to support the peace efforts.
“President Donald Trump and I are in contact with our counterparts in both countries and are monitoring the situation closely,” Rubio said in a statement on Sunday evening. “We want this conflict to end as soon as possible.”
The planned talks come after Trump said on Saturday that he had spoken to the leaders of both countries and indicated he would not proceed with trade agreements with either nation if the hostilities continued. He later said that “both sides have agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire.”
The border conflict has killed 34 people and displaced more than 168,000, according to a Politico report.
