Anwar also spoke of a “significant first step of de -escalation and restoration of peace and security”.
Thailand’s Prime Minister of Interim Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet had traveled to Putrajaya to negotiate with Anwar. Malaysia is currently the chair of the Southeast Asian alliance asean, which Thailand and Cambodia are also part of.
The three politicians came together in front of the press after the talks. According to Anwar, a meeting of the military chiefs of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday morning was also agreed. In addition, the border commission of neighboring countries will meet in Cambodia next Monday.
“The solutions that Prime Minister announced Anwar creates the conditions that our bilateral conversations lead to normal relationships again,” said Hun Manet.
In a phone call, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) expressed his “appreciation for the mediation of Prime Minister Ibrahim in the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia”, said government spokesman Stefan Kornelius. The conflict must now be further de -escalated.
The Federal Foreign Office in Berlin spoke of an “important step towards peace”. Now it is important “that the agreement will be implemented quickly and continues permanently,” said the Ministry in online service X.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he spoke to the heads of both countries and congratulated himself, among other things. “I am pleased to be able to announce that after President Donald J. Trump’s participation, both countries have achieved an armistice and peace,” wrote Trump in his online service Truth Social.
In his part, EU foreign commissioner Kaja Kallas spoke of an “important breakthrough”. “It is urgently needed that both countries are now implementing this good will,” she emphasized on X.
In the border region between Thailand and Cambodia, fighting continued shortly before the peace talks began. In the Cambodian town of Samraong, which was about 17 kilometers away from the border, artillery fire could continue to be heard when the agreement was announced.
Both sides had accused each other before the conversations started to attack again. Thailand “entered Cambodian territory on the fifth day in a row and, using numerous soldiers,” said the Cambodian Ministry of Defense. The Thai army had declared on Sunday evening (local time) that it was expecting a “significant military operation” of Cambodia.
Phumham said after the talks that the ceasefire had to be implemented “in good faith” on both sides. “Thailand chose a peaceful solution, while at the same time protecting our sovereignty and the life of our people,” he added.
According to the Cambodian Prime Minister, the meeting in Putrajaya was “organized” by the USA, and China was also involved. After calls with both heads of government in advance, US President Trump wrote to Truth on Truth, both sides wanted to “quickly reconcile a ceasefire, and, ultimately, peace”.
According to official information, more than 30 people have so far been killed in the fights between Thailand and Cambodia. According to Bangkok, nine soldiers and 14 civilians were killed on the Thai side. Phnom Penh confirmed the death of eight civilians and five soldiers.
Over 200,000 people fled because of the fights from their villages, 138,000 on the Thai and 80,000 on the Cambodian side of the border.
The battles are the latest escalation in a dispute over the border in the so-called emerald triangle for decades, where the Thai province of Surin and the Cambodian province of Oddar Meanchey and the neighboring state of Laos are bordered.
