Talks on Thai-Cambodia temple row

Thailand and Cambodia are to hold high-level talks on the territorial row over Preah Vihear temple, amid signs tensions over the issue are easing.

The two foreign ministers will meet in the Thai resort of Hua Hin to discuss a lasting solution to the border dispute.

The talks follow a month-long military stand-off at the hilltop site, which lies near land both sides claim.

The two countries withdrew troops at the weekend and only 10 soldiers from each side now remain.

More than 1,000 troops had been camped out there since the middle of July.

'Settled'

Speaking ahead of the talks, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said he was optimistic a solution could be reached.

Tensions driving the temple row

In pictures: Preah Vihear

"The meeting will achieve good success in resolving the problem step by step," he told reporters before leaving Phnom Penh.

"I think that at the meeting today and tomorrow, we will achieve the total withdrawal of the troops at the pagoda and around the pagoda. So the problem will be settled," he said.

An international court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but land surrounding it remains the subject of rival territorial claims.

The decision by the UN in June to list Preah Vihear as a Unesco World Heritage Site reignited lingering nationalist tensions over the issue.

In early July Cambodian troops detained three Thai protesters who had entered the site illegally, sparking the military stand-off.

The two sides have already held two rounds of talks on the row, which was fuelled by domestic politics on both sides.

Anti-government protest groups in Thailand exploited the issue to attack the ruling coalition, which had initially backed the Unesco listing.

The troop build-up also came just days before a general election in Cambodia - and the temple issue came to dominate the polls.

But last week military officials reached a deal to withdraw troops, raising hopes of an end to the stand-off.