Thailand's deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Wednesday he never expected the military would stage a coup, but indicated he would not try to cling to power.
"I didn't expect this incident would happen," Thaksin said on a chartered plane as he headed from New York to London.
"I was prime minister when I came, and I was jobless on the way back," he said, in his first remarks since the coup.
"I volunteer to work for the country," he reportedly said. "If they don't want me to do that, I won't."
Thaksin was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly when the military staged the coup late on Tuesday. He left on Wednesday for London, where he maintains a residence and where he was expected to meet with his family.
"I was in contact with my family the entire time this was happening, and I was also in contact with the military," he said.