Authors: Mikhail Flores and Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday and thanked him for his support and “clear stance” against Russia’s incursion into his territory.
Zelensky made a surprise appearance at Asia’s biggest security conference in Singapore over the weekend, his second trip to Asia since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the two leaders later met at the Philippine presidential palace.
Zelenskiy, wearing a black shirt and overalls, is visiting the Philippines for the first time since being elected in 2019.
“Thank you for the invitation, we are very grateful to come to your country to support Ukraine, our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Zelensky told Marcos.
“Thank you very much for your strong words and clear stance on us, on Russia’s occupation of our territory,” he added.
Zelensky said Ukraine would also open an embassy in Manila this year.
Zelensky was speaking on the final day of the Shangri-La Dialogue forum, asking for support and participation in a summit planned for June 15-16 in Switzerland aimed at bringing peace to the war-torn country.
Marcos delivered a keynote speech at the forum, criticizing illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea, but did not name China.
Marcos told Zelensky he was “honored” by the Ukrainian leader’s visit to Manila.
“It was a pleasure to meet and discuss common issues between our two countries and hope that together we can find an approach that suits both of us,” Marcos said.
Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine “special operations,” has not yet been invited to a planned summit in Switzerland, and China has confirmed it will not attend.
Zelensky has urged U.S. President Joe Biden to attend, but Washington has not yet confirmed who will attend.
While in Singapore, Zelensky told a press conference that he was unable to meet the Chinese delegation at the conference and was disappointed that Beijing did not attend the summit.
