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BANGKOK - Thailand's premier said Wednesday the situation has returned to normal after fighting broke out on the border with Cambodia and insisted Thai troops did not start the exchange.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said fighting in disputed patches of land near the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border was "small scale", and said they had now subsided.
"We are not the ones who ignited the violence," Somchai told reporters.
"The situation has returned to normal now and this evening the foreign ministry will hand over an aide memoir to a Cambodian diplomat," he said.
"It is not serious and I am convinced there will be resolution," he added.
Thailand's army spokesman has said one Cambodian soldier was killed and four Thai troops were injured in Wednesday's clashes, which came after a days of tension between the neighbours.
Cambodian army officials have insisted that Thai troops fired first after they strayed into Cambodian territory.
Tensions between the neighbours flared this week after failed talks on Monday aimed at cooling a months-long stand off over land near Preah Vihear.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen then issued an ultimatum to the Thai side to leave or risk conflict after he accused more than 80 Thai soldiers of entering one of a handful of disputed areas.
- AFP /ls
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