Glyn Davies, the new United States ambassador to Thailand, urged the government on Thursday to quickly organise the next general election while confirming that Thailand remained an important US ally.
Mr Davies informed reporters of his message after meeting Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai at the Foreign Ministry for about an hour on Thursday.
The US still attached importance to its relations with Thailand which had continued for over nine generations. It considered Thailand as a regional ally with comprehensive cooperation covering security, social and civil affairs, law enforcement and environment, the ambassador said.
Regarding democratic restoration, the US maintained the same stance, hoping Thailand would follow its reform roadmap and organise the election soon, Mr Davies said. The government of Gen Prayut who staged the May 22, 2014 coup has set the next election date for mid-2017.
Mr Davies said he planned to talk to as many Thai people as possible to sound out their opinions and was ready to have an official meeting with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in the near future.
Minister Don said the atmosphere of the meeting was very good. Regarding the roadmap, the restoration of democracy was an important goal of the government but it was paying special attention to constitution drafting and national reform.
The US understood that, the foreign minister said.
He also quoted the ambassador as saying that the US would not issue any measure to boycott Thailand for the progress of its anti-human trafficking solutions.
Mr Don also said that Thailand and the US would discuss their relation strategies in December and US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russell would arrive for the talks.
The two countries will discuss their military relations in Hawaii. Such meetings showed that Thai-US relations were normal, Mr Don said.