Thai, Cambodian leaders set for peace talks nudged by Trump

A portrait lies in an evacuated house that was destroyed by fire after being hit by Cambodian artillery that morning, in the Thai border province of Surin on Sunday. | AFP-JIJI

by PATPICHA TANAKASEMPIPAT
Jul 28, 2025

Thai and Cambodian leaders are set to hold talks on Monday in a bid to end the deadliest clash between the two Southeast Asian nations in over a decade, a peace initiative driven by U.S. President Donald Trump, who used the threat of tariffs to press for a ceasefire.

Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet are scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur at 3 p.m. local time, according to Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. The gathering will be at the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who, as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will be facilitating the dialogue, he said.

The first talks since clashes began on July 24 comes within 48 hours of Trump saying Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to "quickly work out a ceasefire.” After separate calls with Phumtham and Hun Manet on Saturday, Trump had threatened that Washington will not do a trade deal with either country as long as the fighting continued.