Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday the Philippines will take part in a peace conference hosted by Switzerland this month, and he thanked the Philippines for its support.
After Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hosted Zelenskyy for talks at the presidential palace, Zelenskyy said on X that Ukraine plans to open an embassy in Manila this year.
“I am grateful to the Philippines for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, for its clear position on Russia’s aggression against our country, and for supporting important UN resolutions,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader was in Singapore Sunday and told a security conference that China was helping Russian efforts to disrupt the peace conference set for June 15-16, with China pressuring leaders of other countries not to attend.
China has been calling for a peace conference with equal participation of all sides, including Russia, which has not been invited. Russia also has called Zelenskyy’s peace plan requiring Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territories a non-starter.
Despite its proclaimed neutrality, China’s trade with Russia has grown, allowing Moscow to weather Western economic sanctions.
Ukrainian, U.S. and other intelligence agencies also say there is evidence that Chinese parts are winding up in Russian weaponry, even if China is not directly arming its neighbor.
NATO-Russia
NATO’s decision to strengthen Europe’s northern and eastern flank is aimed at securing its borders from Russian expansionism, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday, adding that it should be clear to Moscow that the alliance will be ready to defend itself if necessary.
Speaking at the Eastern German Economic Forum, Scholz said Germany has played a leading role in NATO’s presence in the Baltics on Russia’s border, stretching back nearly a decade.
“And because the threat from Russia will continue, we and other allies decided last year to deploy additional units to the Baltic states and to station an entire brigade there permanently in future,” Scholz said, according to a speech transcript.
“But this turnaround in security policy is necessary to show Russia: We are prepared to defend every square inch of NATO territory against attacks.”
Putin warned NATO members recently against allowing Ukraine to use Western made weapons on Russian territory, after several Western allies lifted restrictions imposed on the use of arms they supplied to Kyiv.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Friday dismissed Russian threats, saying the alliance had heard them many times before and self-defense was not escalation.
Some material was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
