Foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand hold a one-day meeting on Monday for a peaceful solution of the nearly two-week bilateral military standoff in the border area near the Preah Vihear Temple.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong and his newly appointed Thai counterpart Tej Bunnag began their talks at around 10:20 a.m. local time.
The meeting is scheduled to be ended at around 04:30 p.m. on Monday, said official source.
Talks between Thailand's armed forces chief General Boonsrang Niumpradit and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh ended a week ago without resolution. ASEAN intervention also failed the next day.
If the Siem Reap produces no solution, Cambodia will find help from the UN Security Council, Hor Namhong said.
At least one thousand of soldiers have deployed since July 15 in manifestation of either sides' claim of the 4.6 square km land at the border area.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, but surrounding land remains in dispute.
(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)
