Caretaker Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon yesterday defended caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra against criticism of his plans to meet the leaders of France, Britain, Russia, Japan and China on his current six-day trip abroad.

"He is going there in a personal capacity to meet old friends in their countries. It's not an official visit. Those leaders are receiving him as a private gesture," he told The Nation.

Thaksin told reporters before his departure on Sunday that he would explain the country's political situation to the leaders.

Senator Kraisak Chonhavan, chairman of the Senate Foreign Committee in the outgoing Senate, joined other academics and critics yesterday in attacking Thaksin's globetrotting.

Kraisak called the trip "inappropriate" diplomatically and said the meetings with foreign leaders were mainly for a Thai audience.

Surat Horachaikul, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Department of international relation, said Thaksin's insistence on meeting these world leaders at short notice was an embarrassment for the Thai people and that Thai diplomats felt extremely uncomfortable about his actions.

Surat said Thaksin had to understand he is accountable to the Thai public and needed to explain to the people why he is reaching out to the foreign community instead of engaging with them.

Thaksin would also miss the annual convention of his Thai Rak Thai Party today due to his trip.

The Thai embassy in London said yesterday that Thaksin had arrived in the city and was due to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair. He flies to France today to meet President Jacques Chirac, then leaves for Moscow in the evening. After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Thaksin will make a short stop in Japan on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi before flying on to China to meet Premier Wen Jia-bao. He will spend Friday in China and return to Thailand on Saturday. He leaves again on Sunday to meet Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.