Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to reduce their troops to the minimum level at and around the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda as well as in the vicinity of the Preah Vihear Temple in the eponymous Cambodian province, before the foreign ministers from both sides convene their second meeting on July 18 in Thailand to break the month-long bilateral military standoff, an official said here Thursday.

Both sides agreed Wednesday at the military officials’ meeting in Surin province of Thailand to reduce the troops to the smallest number to avoid military confrontation at the border, said Neang Phat, secretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense and a senior member of the Cambodian-Thai Joint Border Committee.

The agreement was reached during the meeting between Lt. Gen. Suchit Sitthiprapa, Thailand’s Second Army Commander responsible for security affairs in northeastern region, and the Cambodian delegation led by Neang Phat.

Extracted from xinhua.