Thailand's prime minister will meet the leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia to explain his refusal to allow a major summit here to broach Muslim unrest in his country, an official said.

The meeting was made at the request of Thailand, a foreign ministry official said, asking not to be identified.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's threat to walk out of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit starting today if it raised the topic has provoked strong criticism in Malaysia.

Asean's policy cited

Thaksin said Thursday that Asean's policy of not interfering in the affairs of its 10 members meant leaders should not raise the unrest, which has left 550 people dead this year.

Concern in Malaysia and Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, about the separatist-linked violence was heightened last month with the deaths of 87 Muslim protesters, most of them from suffocation while held on army trucks.