Washington — Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump He said on Friday that the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia agreed to renew the truce after that Days of deadly clashes It threatened to cancel the ceasefire that the US administration helped broker earlier this year.
Trump announced the agreement to resume the ceasefire in a social media post after phone calls with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Trump said in his post on the Truth Social website: “They have agreed to a ceasefire starting this evening, and to return to the original peace agreement that was concluded with me and them, with the help of the great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.”
Thai and Cambodian officials did not provide immediate comment after Trump’s announcement. Anutin, after he spoke with Trump but before the US president posted on social media, said He assured Trump of Thailand’s position It was to continue fighting until Cambodia no longer posed a threat to its sovereignty.
Trump, a Republican, said Ibrahim played an important role in helping push Thailand and Cambodia to agree again to stop fighting.
“It is an honor to work with Anutin and Hun in resolving what could have developed into a major war between two wonderful and prosperous nations!” Trump added.
Original ceasefire An agreement was reached in July brokered by Malaysia and passed under pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade concessions unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia attended by Trump.
Despite the agreement, the two countries continued a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued.
the The roots of the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia It lies in a history of hostility over competing territorial claims. These claims largely stem from a map created in 1907 when Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand maintains is inaccurate. Tensions worsened after the 1962 International Court of Justice ruling granting sovereignty to Cambodia, which still angers many Thais.
Thailand has deployed jet fighters to carry out air strikes on what it says are military targets. Cambodia has deployed BM-21 missile launchers with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles).
According to data collected by public broadcaster ThaiPBS, at least six of the Thai soldiers killed were injured by rocket fragments.
The Thai military’s Northeast Regional Command said Thursday that some residential areas and homes near the border were damaged by BM-21 rocket launchers fired by Cambodian forces.
The Thai military also said it destroyed a crane high atop a Cambodian-controlled hill where the centuries-old Preah Vihear temple is located, because it allegedly contained electronic and optical equipment used for military command and control purposes.
Trump has done it over and over again Exaggerated claim That he has helped resolve eight conflicts, including the one between Thailand and Cambodia, since returning to office in January is evidence of his negotiating prowess. He was not shy about his desire to be recognized for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, he expressed confidence in his ability to bring the two sides back to a truce.
“Every once in a while, one of them will catch fire again, and I have to put out that little flame,” Trump said.
Another ceasefire that Trump took credit for reaching, between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, is also under pressure — right after African leaders traveled to Washington. To sign the peace agreement.
A joint statement issued by the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes Region expressed “deep concern” about the situation in the South Kivu region of Congo, where New deadly violence Attacks blamed on the Rwandan-backed M23 militia have exploded in recent days.
The Great Lakes Contact Group – which includes Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and the European Union – urged all parties to “fulfill their obligations” under the agreement signed last week and “immediately de-escalate the situation.”
And Trump Internationally approved plan till the end The war between Israel and Hamas In Gaza, it is still not completed and is in limbo Sporadic fighting continues while A crucial second stage Still a work in progress.
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Associated Press writers Jintamas Saksurnchai in Buriram, Thailand, Grant Peck in Bangkok, and Matthew Lee contributed reporting.