Acting Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr. Phumtham Wechai, thanked President Donald Trump and said Thailand agreed in principle on a ceasefire but wanted to see real goodwill from Cambodia.
Mr Phumtham made this statement on Facebook, responding to a series of posts by Mr Trump on the social network Truth Social during his visit to Scotland on July 26.
President Trump said he had held phone talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Mr. Phumtham, and warned that the US would not sign trade agreements with the two countries if the border conflict continued.
They agreed to meet immediately to quickly reach a ceasefire and eventually peace! Trump wrote, stressing that both countries wanted to return to the trade forum.
President Trump is pursuing private trade deals with dozens of countries ahead of August 1, after announcing widespread tariffs on imports into the US.
When everything is done and peace is within reach, I look forward to signing trade agreements with both countries! Trump wrote.
President Donald Trump did not provide details about the ceasefire talks that he said the two countries had agreed to hold. The White House has not responded to the time and location of the dialogue and the Embassy of Thailand and Cambodia in Washington have not responded immediately.
Acting Prime Minister of Thailand Phumtham said he had asked President Trump to "move to Cambodia that Thailand hopes to organize a bilateral dialogue as soon as possible to propose measures and procedures for a ceasefire, as well as moving towards a peaceful solution to the conflict".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern about the clashes and called on both sides to immediately agree on a ceasefire and resolve the disagreement through dialogue. Mr. Guterres condemned the unnecessary killing and was ready to support all efforts to find a peaceful solution.
Before Mr. Trump's post, the Thailand - Cambodia border conflict had dragged on to the third day on July 26 and new hot spots continued to flare up as both sides said the action was in self-defense and called on the other side to end the conflict and start negotiations.
Both sides confirmed fighting on the morning of July 26 in Thailand's coastal province of Trat and Cambodia's province of Pursat - a new front more than 100km away from other hot spots.
Tensions broke out after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a short clash in late May. The two sides have sent more troops to the border area amid the escalating diplomatic crisis.
As of July 26, Thailand said 7 soldiers and 13 civilians were killed, while Cambodia reported 5 soldiers and 8 civilians killed.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim - ASEAN Chairman - said that he will continue to promote the ceasefire proposal. Cambodia has supported Mr. Anwar's plan, while Thailand said it agreed with this plan in principle.
