The Democrat Party leader is open to talks with caretaker Prime Minister Ying-luck Shinawatra and even her fugitive brother, Thaksin, next week, but insists the meeting should be broadcast live.
Abhisit Vejjajiva is ready to meet representatives from the caretaker government and is free to do so between Wednesday and Friday, party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said yesterday.
It would be good if Ms Yingluck could meet him then and even better if the session could be broadcast live to minimise the chances of the meeting being used by the followers of the two sides to discredit each other, Mr Chavanond said.
Mr Abhisit is also open to talks with Thaksin Shinawatra if the former PM can join the broadcast session with his sister through a videoconferencing service.
Mr Abhisit will focus on persuading all sides to make sacrifices to avoid confrontation and ease the current political conflicts, Mr Chavanond said.
He thanked caretaker Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung for his offer to join the talks, but said a meeting with Ms Yingluck would be more appropriate right now.
Asked about Suthep Thaugsuban, the leader of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee who had made clear a middleman of any kind was not welcome, Mr Chavanond said he was confident Mr Suthep had not been referring to Mr Abhisit.
“This is because Mr Abhisit is not a middleman," he said.
"He’s just floating solutions for the country's problems."
Mr Abhisit affirms he will go ahead with meeting all sides to break the impasse,” Mr Chavanond said.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party deputy spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said Mr Abhisit’s move was in line with speculation that the wild card in the next phase of political conflict was the ruling of the Constitutional Court early next month on the prime minister’s status in the Thawil Pliensri transfer case.
It will prove the sincerity of Mr Abhisit and the anti-government networks and be a litmus test for how strongly they could or would stand up to Mr Suthep, he said.