EU Pledges Strong Support for Ceasefire, Humanitarian Aid as Cambodia Reports Rising Civilian Toll

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Dec. 18, 2025) — Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn held a phone call with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to discuss humanitarian assistance and efforts to restore peace along the Cambodia–Thailand border, officials said Thursday.

According to Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry, Sokhonn expressed appreciation for the EU’s continued support across development sectors and for humanitarian aid to civilians displaced by the conflict.

Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, conveyed condolences over civilian casualties and reaffirmed the bloc’s readiness to provide additional aid and back peaceful solutions through dialogue.

Kallas stressed the EU’s commitment to helping “get out of the escalation cycle,” offering satellite imagery to support ceasefire monitoring.

She said she had delivered the message directly to the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand.

Sokhonn reiterated Cambodia’s commitment to the ceasefire framework set out in the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration of Oct. 26. Both sides underscored the need to halt hostilities and restore peace.

The talks came as Cambodia’s Interior Ministry reported that, between Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, Thai attacks killed 18 civilians, injured 79 others and displaced more than 476,000 people, including over 240,000 women and 130,000 children.