Phnom Penh (FN), Feb. 16 - It is with great surprise that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has learned that the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh had posted on its official Facebook page on 15 February 2019 a partial comment concerning the legal case of Mr. Kem Sokha with an obvious intention to mislead the public opinion, Cambodian foreign affairs ministry wrote in the stated dated Saturday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expresses grave concern over such a conduct and categorizes the move as undiplomatic and disrespectful for the sovereignty of Cambodia,” according to the statement.

“The Ministry is compelled to remind the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh to refer to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, which particularly requires the Mission to respect the laws and regulations, and not to interfere in the internal affairs of Cambodia,” the statement continued.

“The Kingdom of Cambodia always respects the sovereignty of other nations and has not commented on any disgraceful scandal of any senior officials and politicians of any country. The step taken by the U.S. Embassy in this biased direction runs counter to the ongoing efforts of the two nations in improving the bilateral relationship for shared interest of the two countries and peoples,” it added.

“While urging the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh to immediately discontinue this politically motivated and undiplomatic conduct, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation wishes to reaffirm Cambodia’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and the maintenance of peace, stability and public order, which the Cambodian people are currently enjoying,” the ministry underlined.
=FRESH NEWS