U.S. President Says Thailand & Cambodia Agree to Hold Immediate Ceasefire Talks

Reuters

A woman and her daughter near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple in Cambodia.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday, 26 July 2025, that the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire, as he sought to broker peace after three days of fighting along their border.

Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, thanked President Trump and said Thailand "agrees in principle to have a ceasefire in place" but "would like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side."

PM Phumtham was responding in a Facebook post to a series of social media posts by President Trump during a visit to Scotland. President Trump said he had spoken to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Phumtham and warned them that he would not make trade deals with either if the border conflict continued.

"Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace," President Trump wrote as he gave a blow-by-blow account of his diplomatic efforts.

PM Phumtham also said he had asked President Trump "to convey to the Cambodian side that Thailand wants to convene a bilateral dialogue as soon as possible to bring forth measures and procedures for the ceasefire and the eventual peaceful resolution of the conflict."

At least 33 people have been killed and more than 168,000 displaced as fierce fighting continues along the Thailand–Cambodia border, now entering its third consecutive day.

On Saturday, Cambodian authorities reported 12 additional deaths, bringing their total to 13. Meanwhile, Thai officials confirmed the death of a soldier, raising Thailand’s toll to 20 — the majority of whom are civilians.

Sky News reported that Fresh flashpoints erupted more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from previously reported conflict zones, highlighting the widening scope of the hostilities. Early morning clashes were reported in Thailand’s coastal Trat Province and Cambodia’s Pursat Province, according to officials from both sides.

Amid mounting international concern, calls for a ceasefire have intensified. During an emergency meeting in New York late on Friday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously urged both nations to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute, according to a council diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.

Malaysia, which currently chairs the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — to which both Thailand and Cambodia belong — issued a statement calling for an immediate end to hostilities and offered to mediate.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence accused Thailand of launching “a deliberate, unprovoked, and unlawful military attack”. However, Thailand’s acting Prime Minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, rejected the accusation, insisting that Bangkok had exercised “the utmost restraint and patience in the face of [Phnom Penh’s] provocations and aggression”.

The violence has triggered a humanitarian crisis. Cambodia’s Information Minister, Neth Pheaktra, said that 10,865 Cambodian families — totalling 37,635 individuals — have been forced to flee from three border provinces. Thai authorities reported that more than 131,000 people have been displaced from villages near the frontier.

Sky News said in its reported that the villages in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey Province appeared largely deserted, with residents evacuating on homemade tractors or seeking shelter in makeshift underground bunkers reinforced with wood, tarpaulin and zinc sheets. Hundreds of others gathered at a remote Buddhist temple, where aid workers erected plastic tents beneath the trees.

The 800-kilometre (500-mile) border between the two countries has long been a source of tension, with periodic clashes flaring up over the past decades. The last major conflict in 2011 left 20 people dead.

Tensions resurfaced in May following the fatal shooting of a Cambodian soldier and escalated further on Wednesday when a landmine blast injured five Thai soldiers. The crisis deepened after Thailand closed the border and expelled the Cambodian ambassador, prompting both governments to deploy reinforcements.

Clashes broke out the following day, and on Friday, the Thai military reported fighting in multiple areas along the border, including near the disputed ancient Ta Muen Thom temple, which both countries claim as their own.



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