Cambodia Praises Trump As A Peacemaker

US President Donald Trump/PHOTO via Instagram @whitehouse

JAKARTA - Cambodian government officials praised US President Donald Trump for successfully bringing peace after Thailand and Cambodia agreed an unconditional ceasefire.

Both sides pledged to lay down arms after the deadliest fighting in more than a decade.

It was recorded that 36 people were killed and more than 100,000 civilians fled the disputed border area between the two Southeast Asian countries.

This ceasefire comes amid pressure from Trump via a post on Truth Social to stop negotiating trade rates with the two countries if hostilities continue.

Thailand initially rejected third-party mediation offers but changed its mind after Trump's tariff threat.

"Cambodias fully support US initiatives, particularly President Donald Trump, to end the conflict or immediately ceasefire," Cambodia's Director General of the National Assembly, Lim Menghour, told ABC News.

"Our Prime Minister received a call from US President Donald Trump offering mediation to end this conflict, and our Prime Minister immediately accepted the offer."

Menghor described Monday's ceasefire negotiations in Malaysia as a good meeting with good results.

In the ceasefire announcement, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called it a vital first step towards deescalation and restoration of peace and security.

The two leaders who were arguing shook hands after holding face-to-face talks for the first time since the conflict first started on Thursday last week.

At that time, both sides blamed each other for firing first -- then attacking each other along the disputed border area.

There is skepticism about whether this ceasefire, which is centered on a border dispute that has lasted for a century, will actually survive.

Although Menghour said the immediate cessation of hostilities was key to resolving this dispute, Cambodia has made it clear.

"We do not relinquish our sovereignty, our territorial integrity," he stressed.