Thailand rejects outside mediation over conflict with Cambodia
The UN Security
Council meeting, which will take place on Feb. 14 in New York under
Phnom Penh’s proposal, will a chance to show that Cambodia sparked
the conflict, he said in his weekly television address.
Cambodia’s claims to call for a third country, the United Nations and
peacekeeping forces were wrong, the PM said, adding Thailand would
call for a return to bilateral talks on demarcation.
One day
earlier, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor
Namhong said that his country asked the UN to play as a mediator for a
ceasefire agreement with Thailand in order to end their long-lasting
dispute over territory around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear .
Thai
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor
Namhong are scheduled to attend the UN Security Council’s upcoming
meeting.
The conflict started with crossfire between Thai and
Cambodian soldiers from Feb. 4, causing casualties on both sides and
forcing thousands of local people to be evacuated from their homes./.