Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Thailand's Foreign Minister, Sompong Amornviwat, on Thursday said the upcoming 14th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, scheduled to be held in Chiang Mai beginning December 15, may be postponed due to the political turmoil in the country.

Sompong's statement comes after anti-government protestors, demanding the resignation of Thailand's Prime Minister, this week forced the closure of the two major airports servicing the Thai capital of Bangkok – the country's largest international airport, Suvanabhumi, along with Don Meung, the former international hub.

Protesters first arrived en masse at Suvarnabhumi on Tuesday.

Sompong, himself stranded in Germany at the moment, said he is taking into consideration other ASEAN countries' concerns on the political turmoil in Thailand, according to The Nation newspaper.

Leaders of ASEAN, as well as those from China, South Korea and Japan, are scheduled to meet in Chiang Mai from December 15 to 17. Though the meeting was initially scheduled to be held in Bangkok, the venue was transferred to the Shangri-La Hotel in Chiang Mai because of months of political turmoil in the capital.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson, speaking in late October at the time when Chiang Mai was first floated as a possible alternate venue, had originally inferred that the move may be made since "Chiang Mai has pleasant weather in December."