Ukrainian displacement consequence of Russia’s aggression

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines reiterated yesterday that the displacement of civilians in Ukraine has been a serious consequence of “Russia’s aggression” against the eastern European country.

The Philippines and Ukraine held high level-interactions on November 2022 when Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits held in Cambodia. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines expressed strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of Southeast Asia during the ASEAN Summits in Cambodia.

“The displacement of civilians has been a serious consequence of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and we have supported efforts in the United Nations not only to seek a peaceful end to this conflict, but also to address the pressing and urgent humanitarian issue of displaced civilians,” the DFA said.  

The DFA noted that the Philippines saw the European Union’s 10-Point Plan for stronger European coordination on welcoming people fleeing the war from Ukraine as a meaningful response to the United Nations resolutions on Ukraine, “all of which we have strongly supported, particularly on the protection of civilians.”  

“We ourselves have a long tradition of providing refuge for civilians fleeing from conflict as well as protecting civilians in conflict through our many decades of involvement in peacekeeping,” the DFA added.

The DFA said Kuleba thanked Manalo for Philippine support to Ukraine in the UN General Assembly held in September last year.

“The same support to Ukraine was reflected in the Joint Statement of the ASEAN and EU leaders in Brussels in December last year, to which the Philippines was country coordinator,” the agency said.

Phone call

The DFA yesterday frowned upon the statement of Ukraine that the Philippines has not responded to its request for a phone call between President Marcos and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During a press briefing in Malaysia last Wednesday, Ukrainian embassy chargé d’Affaires Denys Mykhailiuk said Ukraine, presently embroiled in a conflict with Russia, has formally requested for a phone call between the two leaders in June last year. The Ukrainian embassy in Malaysia also has jurisdiction over the  Philippines. 

Mykhailiuk said the Philippines has yet to reply to the request and Ukraine is following it up twice a month.

Asked to react to the Ukrainian government’s statement, DFA Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta said the phone call has to be discussed and arranged by the two sides. – Alexis Romero