The Philippines will participate in the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland, an effort to achieve peace amid the Ukraine-Russia war, Malacañang said.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed that the country is set to participate in the peace conference that will be held on June 15.
"Philippines is participating but has yet to be finalized," Garafil said on Monday, June 3, following the visit of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Palace on Monday morning.
During the meeting between Marcos and Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president thanked Marcos for the Philippines' registration in the Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy told Marcos that the country's participation in the peace summit is a "very strong signal."
Last week, the Ukrainian government expressed hopes that Marcos would join the summit, saying that the Philippine government's participation in the process "is highly valued as it can offer fresh insights and strengthen the collaborative effort needed to resolve conflicts."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to Marcos for the Philippines’ clear position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine's territories and for its support to the United Nations (UN) resolutions.
“Thank you so much, Mr. President [and] your team. Very happy to be [here for] the first time in the Philippines, I’m sure not last,” he said.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Although Russia made significant gains in the first days of combat its forces were rebuffed by Ukrainian defenders in their attempts to seize Kyiv and other major cities.
The fighting has been raging for more than two years and has brought tremendous devastation and catastrophic human toll on both sides.