U.S., Soviets Endorse Plan for U.N. Role in Cambodia : Diplomacy: The U.N. would oversee a cease-fire and elections. But the warring factions have not agreed on a settlement.

The United States and the Soviet Union endorsed a proposal Thursday for an interim U.N. administration in Cambodia, saying the idea could result in a peaceful settlement of the long conflict there.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, holding out an unusual olive branch to Communist Cambodian Premier Hun Sen, said the United States welcomes signs of “new flexibility” from his Vietnamese-backed regime.

And Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Rogachev, who recently visited Cambodia, told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand, that the idea of a U.N. trusteeship is “clever (and) timely.”

The simultaneous statements by the two governments were also a sign of renewed U.S.-Soviet cooperation to end conflicts in the Third World, Bush Administration officials said. Still, one aide noted, “It was probably easier to reach agreement with the Soviets than to sell the idea to the Cambodian factions.”

There is no indication yet what China’s response will be. China has been the principal supporter of the Khmer Rouge faction, which is blamed for the deaths of more than a million Cambodians before its 3 1/2-year rule was ended by invading Vietnamese troops in 1978.

The new proposal for Cambodia, first made by Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, calls for a U.N. administration to take over the country’s government for six to 12 months; for a U.N. peacekeeping force to separate the country’s four warring armies, and for the United Nations to supervise elections for a new government.

Cambodia has been racked by guerrilla war since 1978, when Vietnam invaded the country to oust the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese-backed regime of Hun Sen has battled the still-powerful Khmer Rouge as well as two weaker, U.S.-backed non-communist factions.

Fighting has intensified in Cambodia since Vietnamese troops withdrew in September. An international peace conference in Paris last summer attempted to reach agreement on a four-party interim government, but failed.

The Australian proposal would break a diplomatic deadlock over including the Khmer Rouge in an interim regime. Until recently, the United States had favored allowing the Khmer Rouge to play a role, but that idea drew opposition from Hun Sen, Vietnam and, increasingly, Congress.

Last week, Hun Sen announced that he was prepared to discuss “the formation of interim authorities in Cambodia for the transitional period.” He added that his regime would accept a major role for the United Nations, as long as the United Nations first evicts the Khmer Rouge and other opposition groups from Cambodia’s seat at the world body. Previously, Hun Sen had rejected any U.N. role.

State Department spokesman Boucher said the Administration noted Hun Sen’s new position “with interest” and added: “We look forward to clarification of his comments. We would certainly welcome any new flexibility on the part of the Phnom Penh regime.”

“We believe that recent suggestions for an enhanced U.N. oversight role in a transitional cambodian administration merit serious consideration,” he said.

“We seriously think that it’s worth discussing, worth examining,” Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Rogachev said in Bangkok, United Press International reported. “Personally, I am very glad that our good colleague from Australia put forward such a clever proposal, timely proposal.”

Rogachev met with Hun Sen earlier this week and praised the Cambodian leader’s new position as “a significant and courageous concession that blazes a trail toward quickly reaching a solution,” according to a joint Soviet-Cambodian communique. The Soviet Union supplies military aid to both Vietnam and Hun Sen’s regime.

However, the three Cambodian opposition factions immediately denounced Hun Sen’s proposal as “a deceiving diplomatic maneuver.” In a statement, the coalition--which includes both the Khmer Rouge and the two U.S.-backed groups--said the Hun Sen government must be completely dissolved and a new government, drawn from all four factions, installed before elections are held.