Thai defence minister Boonrawd Somtas today welcomed an offer from Malaysia to help mediate with Thai separatists along their common border.

"We welcome the move. Our prime minister has told his foreign minister to hold talks with his Malaysian counterpart and work out the details of the cooperation," Boonrawd told reporters.

"They must also come up with an official written proposal," he added.

Boonrawd admitted that it would take time to set up any negotiations, but promised to resolve the unrest which has claimed more than 1,900 lives since January 2004.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Tuesday that his country shared cultural and religious ties with the separatists in the Muslim-majority south, and could act as a mediator in the conflict.

The mediation offer underscored warming ties between the two nations, following a visit earlier this week by Abdullah to Thailand.

Shadowy militants

Relations had been badly strained during the government of Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who accused Malaysia of failing to prevent insurgents from crossing the border to stage attacks.

But since Thaksin was ousted in a coup in September, army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has made a priority of improving relations with Malaysia and curbing the unrest in the three southernmost provinces.

So far his efforts - which included an offer to hold talks with the militants - have yielded little progress, and violence has surged in the last four months.

The shadowy militants never claim responsibility for the attacks, leaving officials uncertain about who exactly they should talk to.

The region has a history of separatist violence ever since Thailand annexed what was an autonomous ethnic Malay sultanate a century ago.

But analysts doubt that previous generations of separatists retain much operational control over fighters in the latest conflict.