Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was to return to Thailand this year, said his legal advisor Noppadol Pattama Tuesday.

Whether his return would be before or after the general election was still not certain, he said, adding that Thaksin wanted the nation to reconcile first before he came back.

"It's about wounds," Noppadol was quoted by the Bangkok Post's web news as saying. "It takes time to heal the wounds."

He added that Thaksin would continue to give interviews to foreign press as he claimed the situation in Thailand was getting better and it was not easy for the ex-prime minister to turn down their interview requests.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont earlier said the return of Thaksin must be settled by consensus between the government, the Council for National Security and Thaksin's family.

Thaksin, the former prime minister of Thailand, was ousted by a military coup on September 19 last year. Since then, Thaksin has not returned to Thailand due to a series of security considerations.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)