"Thaksin can decide for himself if he really wants to come home as his return is contingent on an agreement to restrain his movements," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said in a televised speech.

Surayud said his government, the Council for National Security (CNS) and Thaksin would have to work out what Thaksin could do after returning.

The prime minister addressed the Thaksin issue as part of the government's explanation for last week's diplomatic spat with Singapore over Thaksin's visit to the city-state.

The government had to retaliate by suspending a high-level bilateral meeting because Singaporean authorities ignored its repeated protests against the private meeting between Thaksin and Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar, he said.

"There are unresolved political issues about Thaksin, and we had expressed our concerns about him in a straightforward and tactful manner, but Singapore acted as if its ties with us were a secondary issue," he said.

CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said he would have to talk to Surayud before giving his view on letting Thaksin return.

"I should study Surayud's remarks and talk to him, otherwise my hasty comments might be misleading," he said, adding that no mention had been made of Thaksin's future when he met Surayud on Friday.

He also played down speculation the government was giving the green light for Thaksin to end his exile.

"Domestic security must be reviewed before any decision is made about Thaksin," he said.

Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram said it was true Thaksin had tried to hire a lobbying firm in the United States for the past few months.