Cambodia and Thailand agreed to hold talks on December 24 aimed at reviving a ceasefire brokered earlier this year, as deadly fighting along their shared border entered a third week.
The decision was taken during a special meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Kuala Lumpur, where regional diplomats sought to de-escalate the conflict. The planned meeting will involve defence officials from both sides under the long-standing General Border Committee mechanism.
Clashes along the 817-kilometre border between Thailand and Cambodia have included daily exchanges of artillery, rockets and air strikes, with at least 80 people reported killed so far. Fighting resumed after the collapse of a truce first brokered in July by Malaysia, as Asean chair, and Donald Trump.
Asean foreign ministers urged both sides to exercise restraint and expressed hope that the planned talks would lead to a reduction in hostilities. Thailand’s foreign minister said Bangkok was seeking a «true ceasefire» backed by a clear implementation plan, stressing that a ceasefire must be negotiated rather than simply declared.
The renewed violence has become one of the rare armed conflicts between Asean member states, putting pressure on the bloc to play a more active mediation role as diplomatic efforts intensify to halt the fighting.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that most high-liquidity stocks on the Tashkent Republican Stock Exchange (RSE) showed positive performance between December 12 and 19, even as the UCI index fell 1.04%.
