In response to media enquiries about the French offer to help resolve the current situation along the Thai-Cambodian border, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, said there may have been some misunderstanding about the proposal as France had not offered to mediate between the two countries as some media had reported. Rather, France had expressed its readiness to provide access to maps of the region it had made in the early 20th century should any country wish to study or make copies of them.
The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson further stated that Thailand welcomed the offer. In fact, Thailand had in the past received good cooperation from Quai d'Orsay, which had given Thai officials access to their archives several times before. Should there be additional maps that Thailand has not yet examined, it would certainly consider examining such maps without prejudice to its boundary claims.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th