US hopes ceasefire between Thailand, Cambodia by early next week

WASHINGTON (Dec.20,2025) — The United States hopes a renewed ceasefire will be reached by early next week to end clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday.

“We are working hard to push everybody back to compliance, and we are cautiously optimistic that we can get there by Monday or Tuesday,” Rubio told reporters.

Foreign ministers from the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN are scheduled to meet Dec. 22 in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the crisis.

Rubio said he spoke by phone Dec. 18 with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and that the administration would hold additional conversations over the weekend.

President Donald Trump earlier this year claimed victory after pressing for a previous ceasefire, placing Thailand and Cambodia on a list of conflicts he said he had resolved.

“Both sides have made commitments in writing that they signed,” Rubio said. “Those commitments today are not being kept as a result of both sides claiming grievances against one another, and so the work now is to bring them back to the table.”

He defended the administration’s record, saying its diplomacy “actually did stop fighting,” though hostilities have since resumed.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the countries’ 500-mile border and several ancient temple ruins along the frontier.

Renewed fighting this month has killed at least 21 people in Thailand and 18 in Cambodia and displaced more than 800,000, officials said.