After abandoning talks to address the Kingdom’s political woes and moving to scrap the opposition’s status as the parliamentary “minority” group, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party yesterday maintained the door for dialogue was still open, albeit with conditions.

CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said a path to a political solution was still open, though it would require opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party members to join the National Assembly’s permanent committee and attend plenary sessions.

The opposition, he reiterated, should also refrain from asking for the release of several prisoners, who critics say are detained for political reasons. “If the [CNRP] attends the parliament, they have the opportunity to raise problems and we can talk together. We can talk politics, but not the issue of the release of prisoners.”

Reached yesterday, CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann declined to comment.

The party last week boycotted a parliamentary session in which CPP lawmakers voted to rewrite internal regulations to remove their status as the “minority” group, a role that was designed to facilitate inter-party dialogue.