Thailand and its neighbor Cambodia have agreed to hold a ministerial meeting on next Monday over the disputed border areas adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple, and Cambodia would withdraw its petition filed earlier with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to ask for mediation, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Thursday.
Samak and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen had a telephone conversation Thursday afternoon, in which the Cambodian Prime Minister told Samak that Cambodia would withdraw its request for the UNSC to convene an urgent meeting to discuss the Thai-Cambodian dispute.
Thai soldiers greet Cambodian soldiers near the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda of the Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 24, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Samak said both sides had agreed that the Foreign Ministers of both countries would meet in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on Monday (July 28).
At a press briefing Thursday, Thai Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tharit Charungvat said that Samak and Army Chief Anupong Phaochinda have reaffirmed that there had been no "military-buildup" by the Thai armed forces in the area adjacent to the temple.
The two also reiterated their instructions that all military personnel in the area exercise utmost restraint and avoid any violence in order to strictly follow what had been agreed during the General Border Committee (GBC) on Monday.
