Cambodia: Annan set to dispatch UN delegation to resume talks on Khmer Rouge court

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is set to resume detailed negotiations with Cambodia in a bid to reach agreement on a special court to try the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

Last Friday, the Secretary-General wrote back to Prime Minister Hun Sen accepting his recent invitation to send a UN team to Phnom Penh, and offering to dispatch the delegation later this week or in the beginning of March, according to a UN spokesperson in New York.

"The Secretary-General is now waiting for a reply from Prime Minister Hun Sen, informing him which of those dates would be most convenient for the Government of Cambodia," spokesperson Hua Jiang told a press briefing.

The General Assembly had asked the Secretary-General to report to it by 18 March on the progress of negotiations.

Last month, a Cambodian delegation led by Senior Minister Sok An met with UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell in New York for a series of exploratory talks on the matter.