The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet in Malaysia on Monday in an attempt to negotiate an end to four days of deadly border clashes, officials confirmed on Sunday.
The talks between acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Kuala Lumpur will be mediated by Malaysian premier Anwar Ibrahim in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"They have asked me to try and negotiate a peace settlement," said Anwar on Sunday. "I'm discussing the parameters, the conditions, but what is important is [an] immediate ceasefire."
A Thai government spokesman confirmed Phumtham's participation in the talks in order "to discuss peace efforts in the region."
Cambodia's Hun Manet said earlier Sunday that his country had agreed to pursue an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire."
At least 34 people have been killed and around 200,000 displaced in fighting between the two South-East Asian neighbors over contested border temples this week, with artillery exchanges continuing on Sunday.
Trump calls for peace talks, threatens tariffs
US President Donald Trump claimed credit for the planned peace talks, saying on Sunday ahead of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnbery, Scotland:
"I spoke to both of the prime ministers and I think, by the time I got off, I think they want to settle now."
Previously, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on the two countries if they failed to stop fighting and agree to trade deals.
"After speaking to both Parties, Ceasefire, Peace, and Prosperity seems to be a natural," he wrote on social media on Saturday after speaking to both heads of government. "We … do not want to make any Deal, with either Country, if they are fighting. I am trying to simplify a complex situation!"
Thailand-Cambodia clashes continue on Sunday
The two sides continued to exchange artillery fire on Sunday, with a Cambodian defense ministry spokeswoman saying Thai forces began attacking areas around the village of Samraong at 4.50 a.m. local time, followed by a "large-scale incursion" involving tanks and ground troops in several areas.
"Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand's clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict," she said.
But a Thai army spokesman said Cambodian forces began firing artillery around 4.00 a.m. and accused them of firing shells into civilian homes in Thailand's eastern Surin province.
"Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith and repeatedly violating the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law," Thailand's Foreign Ministry said, confirming the death of a Thai soldier.
"We rushed to leave the house this morning," one 61-year-old Thai border resident told the AFP news agency as she waited to board an evacuation truck. "All of my neighbors have already left and we didn't feel safe to stay any longer."
With the conflict enflaming nationalist sentiments, the Thai government also issued a warning to its own citizens to "refrain from any kind of violence, whether in speech or action" against Cambodians living in the country.
