President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday finally talked with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked him for supporting his country’s sovereignty amid its ongoing war with Russia, which is entering its first year.
“Had the first phone call in the history of bilateral relations with President of the Philippines @bongbongmarcos,” Zelenskyy announced on his official Twitter account.
“Thanked him (Mr. Marcos) for supporting and territorial integrity of Ukraine (flag symbol). We discussed further deepening of cooperation, in particular on international platforms,” the Ukrainian leader added in his tweet, which was liked 3,390 times and viewed 250,000 times as of press time.
The Presidential Communications Office also had yet to issue a statement on the development as of press time, but it marked a breakthrough in Ukraine trying to rally more international support for its cause.
Last month, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Ukraine must schedule an appointment with President Marcos before a phone conversation with him and Zelensky could push through.
This was after DFA Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta expressed the government’s displeasure after Denys Mykhailiuk, the chargé d’affaires of the Ukraine Embassy in Malaysia, revealed that Ukraine has yet to receive a response from the Philippines despite having made a formal request since June last year.
“If he wants this to happen, we have to discuss it. These things are arranged, talking points are discussed…It’s not good diplomatic practice to be doing it the way he did,” Sorreta said in a press briefing in January. Vince Lopez
Sorreta also maintained that the Philippines continues to have a “good relationship” with Ukraine, but Mykhailiuk’s decision to air his grievances publicly does not sit well with him.
Sorreta deplored it as “not good diplomatic practice” for the Ukrainian diplomat for telling members of the Philippine press that the government is not responding to Ukraine’s request for a phone call between the two leaders.
The Ukrainian envoy later apologized for “any misunderstanding” his revelation had caused.
