Thai caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra offered to reconstruct the ancient world heritage Buddha statues destroyed by Afghanistan's former Taliban regime in 2001, the Thai News Agency reported Sunday.

The former Afghan Islamic fuundamentalist regime dynamited and used artillery to deface and destroy the priceless twin Buddha statues, carved into the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains in Bamiyan, claiming that all statues are idols and therefore their existence was contrary to Islamic belief.

The Taliban action against one of Asia's great historical treasures caused international outrage and widespread condemnation.

Speaking to reporters here Sunday after returning from a two- day regional conference in Kazakhstan, Thaksin said he had discussed the issue with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sideline of the conference.

Thaksin said he told the Afghan leader that Thailand, as a Buddhist country, would like to collect the remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues to rebuild the new ones.

President Karzai welcomed the idea but said he would bring up the issue for discussion with his government, according to the Thai caretaker premier.

Besides the reconstruction of the famed Buddha statues, the two leaders also discussed the planned crop substitution project, by which Thailand is willing to help replace opium plantations in Afghanistan, modeled after the royally-initiated projects of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Source: Xinhua