February 14 ------ President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finally got the chance to talk to each other a month after the former clarified that he did not snub the European leader.
Zelensky announced this development in a social media post recently.
In a tweet, the embattled leader said his phone call with Marcos was the first conversation between the two countries’ leaders since Marcos assumed office. According to Zelensky, he thanked Marcos for standing by Ukraine. He said they discussed deepening the relationship between the Philippines and Ukraine. “Had the first phone call in the history of bilateral relations with President of the Philippines [Bongbong Marcos],” he wrote. “Thanked him for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We discussed further deepening of cooperation, in particular on international platforms,” he added. Malacañang has yet to provide details on how the conversation between the two leaders went.
Last month, Ukrainian Charges D’Affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine in Malaysia Denys Mykhailiuk said they have been trying to have the two leaders talk to each other since Marcos assumed office in June 2022 but to no avail. In an interview, President Marcos said they were surprised by Mykhailiuk’s remarks, saying both sides have been trying to set a schedule so he and Zelensky could talk. He added that he did not snub Zelensky’s call for a phone conversation and has always been willing to talk with him.
“There was talk of it a couple of months ago pero wala lang napag-usapan. That’s why nagulat kami when the special envoy came out and said na hindi ko sinasagot,” Marcos said. “I have no problem talking with President Zelensky, especially now na mainit na yung giyera doon sa kanila,” he added. Despite this, Marcos said the Philippines will always be on the side of peace and express support for initiatives leading toward it if needed. “We support any effort towards peace — anything. Basta matigil ang patayan, matigil ang giyera,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has called out the Ukrainian envoy for expressing his remarks before the media, saying the move was undiplomatic.
Source: mb.com.ph
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