Zelensky thanks Marcos for accepting Swiss Peace Conference invite

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for accepting the invitation to attend a peace conference that will take place in Switzerland later this month.

Zelensky said this in a bilateral meeting with Marcos on Monday, where the Ukrainian President appeared to suggest that his Filipino counterpart accepted the invitation.

“I’m happy to hear today from you that you’ll participate in our peace steps. It’s a very strong signal,” Zelensky told Marcos.

"We discussed the inaugural Global Peace Summit and the importance of Southeast Asian countries being represented there. I am pleased that the Philippines will participate in the Summit," Zelensky also said on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.

In a separate Viber message to Palace reporters, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said "(Philippines) is participating but has yet to be finalized."

The Ukrainian President flew to Manila to personally invite Marcos to the summit in Switzerland after trying to meet with him on the sidelines of the yearly defense conference in Singapore.

In a defense forum in Singapore over the weekend, both leaders made disparaging remarks about China. The discussions took place amid the burning wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as the escalating hostilities and competition between China and the United States for dominance in the Indo-Pacific area.

Zelensky accused China on Sunday at a press conference in Singapore of assisting Russia in sabotaging the peace summit, which is being arranged by Switzerland, by exerting pressure on other nations and their leaders to cancel the meeting.

In the same defense forum on Friday, Marcos, whose nation has seen growing hostilities with China over disputed islets in the South China Sea, starkly highlighted the risks associated with the regional hotspot.

Marcos said that "a willful act" that results in a Filipino's death in the South China Sea due to Beijing's aggressive actions "is, I think, very, very close to what we define as an act of war."