Anutin says Trump must convince Cambodia to stop intimidating Thailand before peace talks
Anutin says Trump must convince Cambodia to stop threatening Thailand before peace talks can resume. Thailand demands compliance with prior ceasefire agreements.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump must first convince Cambodia to prove it would no longer threaten Thailand before Bangkok agrees to sit at the negotiation table.
Anutin was responding to a foreign report that Trump offered to mediate peace talks between Thailand and Cambodia.
Anutin said that although Trump had good intentions in offering to mediate, he must first ensure that Cambodia complies with the ceasefire conditions agreed upon earlier.
“The negotiation partner must comply with the agreements reached earlier,” Anutin said. “Thailand was invaded and acted against first. Thailand has made it clear that if they want to hold talks, they must comply with basic agreements first.”
“They must first pull out troops and weapons, remove invaders from Thai soil, and eliminate harmful things from Thai territories,” he added.
The prime minister was apparently referring to encroaching Cambodian communities at Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Sa Kaeo’s Khok Sung district, as well as landmines planted by Cambodian troops inside Thailand along the border.
Anutin said Thailand would be willing to engage in negotiations only after Cambodia complies with these conditions.
He noted that Trump was in another continent far away from Thailand, while Cambodia is located next to Thailand.
“If he convinces Cambodia to comply with these conditions and assures Thailand that it will not invade us again, Thailand will resume negotiations,” he said.
When asked to comment on Cambodia’s offer to nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize to seek favour from the US, Anutin said he did not care about others’ opinions and was solely focused on Thailand’s interests.
Regarding speculation that Cambodia would use its civilians to stir up disturbances at the Sa Kaeo border again on Friday, Anutin said the concerned security agencies had prepared measures to deal with such a situation. He vowed to uphold the rule of law if Cambodians violated Thailand’s sovereignty again.
