Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy visits Philippines to bolster ties, promote upcoming peace summit

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News June 5, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Manila to meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on a rare trip to Asia. Zelenskyy is in Southeast Asia to urge regional leaders to attend the upcoming Swiss-organized global peace summit on the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy arrived in Manila on a surprise visit after attending the Shangri-La Defense Forum in Singapore over the weekend. The Ukrainian President received a red-carpet reception in Manila ahead of his meeting with the President of the Republic of the Philippines Marcos.

The Ukrainian leader expressed gratitude to the President of the Philippines for supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as important UN resolutions condemning Russian aggression. “I am very happy to be in your country for the first time. We are thankful for your clear position on the Russian aggression against our country,” he noted.

Marcos accepted Zelenskyy’s invitation and pledged that his country would take part in the peace summit in July this year, Philippine Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement. “I’m happy to hear today from you that you’ll participate in our peace steps,” Zelenskyy told Marcos. “It’s a very strong signal.”

I arrived in the Philippines and met with President @BongBongMarcos for the first time in the history of our bilateral relations.

I am grateful to the Philippines for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, for its clear position on Russia’s aggression… pic.twitter.com/1MRxTYYfWi
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 3, 2024

According to a statement released by the Ukrainian Presidential office, Zelenskyy announced the opening of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of the Philippines by the end of this year, aiming to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Marcos promised to help and welcomed the decision by Ukraine to open an embassy in Manila and promised to hasten efforts to deliver assistance. “The issues that you are facing are similar and in parallel to ours and, therefore, the position the Philippines takes is always to promote peace,” Marcos said at a joint news conference.

Without naming China, President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has been criticizing Beijing frequently in recent months over Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea.

Both Zelenskyy and Marcos spoke critically of China in Singapore during the Shangri-La defense forum, which was attended by high-level officials from several countries including the U.S. and China. At a news conference in Singapore, Zelenskyy accused China of helping Russia to disrupt the Swiss-organized peace summit by pressuring other countries not to attend.