MANILA (2nd UPDATE)— The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday criticized the Ukrainian envoy in Malaysia who told the press about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's request for a phone call with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., saying these things are arranged.

• Ukraine requesting for phone call between Zelensky, Marcos since June 2022

DFA Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta said they "have to discuss" the Ukraine government's request.

Sorreta noted though that they did not appreciate the move of Ukraine charges d’affaires in Malaysia Denys Mykhailiuk for telling this matter to the press.

"We don’t really appreciate when these things are done… Ukraine is a country we have a good relationship with, but when matters like this are vented by representatives of another government through the press, it’s not something that we appreciate," said the DFA undersecretary.

Video from PTV

"I think I will limit my comment and if he wants this to happen, he has to –we have to discuss it. These things are arranged, talking points are discussed – there’s a pre-discussion. It’s not good diplomatic practice to do it the way he did," he added.

Mykhailiuk said his government first made the request for a phone call to discuss bilateral cooperation when Marcos was still president-elect and has followed up with the Philippine side through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) twice a month.

The DFA however has yet to act on this, he said.

Ukraine is hoping that the Philippines will co-sponsor the peace plan that Zelensky outlined before the United Nations.

The DFA said Thursday that the Philippines and Ukraine have held high-level meetings as recently as last November, when Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summits held in Cambodia.

In those interactions, the Philippines expressed strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of Southeast Asia, the DFA said.

The department added that the Philippines has “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.”

“We see 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 UN resolutions on Ukraine, all of which we have strongly supported, particularly on the protection of civilians,” the DFA said in a statement.

“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 department also said Minister Kuleba thanked Manalo for the Philippines' support for their country during the UN General Assembly last September.

“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 DFA added.

Marcos previously criticized the war in Ukraine, saying it is "unacceptable."

The Philippines’ position on the ongoing conflict between the two European countries “has been made very clear in the UN (United Nations) vote,” he said during his trip to Bangkok for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

— With a report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC