Washington: US President Donald Trump has said that he will witness the signing of a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia as soon as he arrives in Malaysia on Sunday for the ASEAN summit in the Southeast Asian country.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who had requested the signing be moved earlier due to the death of the Kingdom’s queen mother, will be on hand “when we land”, Trump said late Saturday evening in a post on his Truth Social platform from aboard Air Force One.
“I am on my way to Malaysia, where I will sign the great Peace Deal, which I proudly brokered between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Sadly, the Queen Mother of Thailand has just passed away. I send my condolences to the Great People of Thailand. I will be seeing their wonderful Prime Minister when we land. In order to accommodate everyone for this major event, we will be signing the Peace Deal immediately upon arrival. See you soon! President DJT,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Thailand’s Prime Minister on Saturday delayed his departure to a summit of ASEAN leaders in Malaysia following the death of the Queen mother, but said he still wanted to jet in for a peace deal with Cambodia, to be witnessed by US President Trump.
“I cancelled my trip to Malaysia today. However, regarding the peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia with the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the US President, I’ve asked them to rescheduled for tomorrow morning instead,” Anutin told reporters broadcast on local television.
Thailand’s former Queen Sirikit, the mother of the current King Vajiralongkorn and wife of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late on October 24 at the age of 93, the palace said.
Trump will attend the ceremonial signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia at an upcoming summit of South-east Asian nations, the Foreign Minister of host Malaysia, Mohamad Hasan, said last week.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia erupted in July into the deadliest military clashes in decades, killing more than 40 people and forcing around 300,000 to flee their homes.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire — brokered in part by Trump — after five days of fighting and have since repeatedly traded accusations of truce violations.
The Royal family is venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide.
However, on October 23, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to advance efforts to demarcate their shared boundary following a two-day special meeting of the Joint Commission held in Chanthaburi in Thailand.
The joint statement was released after the Cambodia-Thai Joint Commission on Demarcation for the Land Boundary (JBC) was held on October 21-22 and reached several key agreements aimed at advancing and expediting the land demarcation process, according to local media reports from both countries.
(IANS)
