Following a major fallout after his attempted use of the trade leverage in reaching a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) stated that he was optimistic about brokering the peace deal between the Southeast Asian nations, describing the talks as “an easy one,” compared to his past claims of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict.
Speaking to reporters during his meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump reiterated his commitment to using economic pressure to end the ongoing border war between the two Southeast Asian nations.
“We’re dealing with Thailand, and we do a lot of trade with Thailand and with Cambodia, and yet I’m reading that they’re killing each other. You know, they’re fighting. They’re in a war. And I say this should be an easy one for me because I’ve settled with India and Pakistan and Serbia and Kosovo were going at it,” Trump said.
As per Al Jazeera, Cambodia and Thailand, earlier in the day, accused each other of launching artillery attacks, just hours after Trump said both countries had agreed to hash out a ceasefire.
The attacks on Sunday came after both sides said they were willing to start talks to end the fighting over their border dispute after Trump spoke to their leaders late on Saturday.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh are engaged in a territorial dispute dating back over a century, when colonial-era France first demarcated the border between them, CNN reported.
He recounted calling the Prime Minister of Cambodia and the acting Prime Minister of Thailand, asserting, “I said we’re not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war… And I spoke to both of the Prime Ministers, and I think by the time I got off, they wanted to settle now.”
Trump drew confidence from his mediation efforts, particularly citing the India-Pakistan conflict, which he claimed was “really getting ready to go at it.”
Trump was referencing the recent India-Pakistan conflict in May, where he had claimed credit several times for brokering a ceasefire between the two nuclear nations, using trade as leverage.
The conflict erupted after 26 civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
However, according to Indian officials, it was Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who contacted their Indian counterpart to request an end to hostilities, following which the ceasefire was then agreed upon.
“Getting those things settled if I can do it and if I can use trade to do that, it’s my honour,” he added, reflecting his belief in trade as a diplomatic tool.
Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbours, the death toll stood above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia.
Over 200,000 people have also been evacuated from border areas in the two countries, authorities said, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)
