US President Donald Trump said that the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to halt renewed fighting and return to a peace agreement he helped broker.
Trump said on Friday that his "very good conversation" with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet resulted in the breakthrough.
"They have agreed to cease all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original peace accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim," he said on his Truth Social platform.
"The roadside bomb that originally killed and wounded numerous Thai soldiers was an accident, but Thailand nevertheless retaliated very strongly. Both countries are ready for peace and continued trade with the United States of America. It is my honour to work with Anutin and Hun in resolving what could have evolved into a major war," he added.
The border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have displaced around 700,000 people on both sides of the frontier as the death toll climbed to 23 since Monday, according to the officials and local media.
The two countries signed a peace deal in October in Kuala Lumpur, in the presence of Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which was suspended after Thai soldiers were seriously injured in a landmine explosion in a border province.
The neighbours have a long-running border dispute that has led to repeated clashes, including in July, when at least 48 people were killed.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is the 2025 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair, said that he discussed the Cambodia-Thailand conflict with Trump, as well as the bilateral relations, and global issues of mutual concern, according to a statement on Facebook on Friday.
Kuala Lumpur is ready to “support efforts to de-escalate the situation, protect civilians, and help restore regional stability, in line with ASEAN’s spirit of good neighbourliness,” he said.
