Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has made clear, through a post online, that there will be no ceasefire with Cambodia starting at 10pm tonight, as proposed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in his capacity as ASEAN chair.
He said that, if there is to be a ceasefire, it must be proposed directly to Thailand by Cambodia, not through the leader of a third country.
The prime minister said that there has not been any talk with Cambodia about a ceasefire today, as he asked the media to listen only to the information provided twice a day by the Thai military.
“It is not possible. No one can tell us that there must be a ceasefire at 10pm tonight,” said Anutin as he stressed that Thailand is being subjected to aggression by Cambodia and the country’s sovereignty is being threatened.
He noted that Cambodian forces started shelling civilian targets this morning, adding that, if Cambodia sincerely wants a ceasefire, it must pull all its heavy weapons away from the border.
Regarding Thai people in the Cambodian border town of Poipet, who have been prevented from returning to Thailand by Cambodian officials, the prime minister said that he hopes Cambodia will not hold them hostage, because they have nothing to do with the current armed conflict.
