BANGKOK — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "unacceptable" and joined other members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in calling for Russia’s "complete and unconditional withdrawal" from Ukrainian territory.

The Philippines’ position on the ongoing conflict between the two European countries “has been made very clear in the UN (United Nations) vote,” Marcos Jr. told reporters in a press conference after the APEC summit here concluded.

“The war is unacceptable and we asked all parties involved… Urging that peace be brought back to Ukraine and the confrontation be brought to the diplomatic space,” he said.

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“The effect is not solely upon on Ukraine and Russia. It was made clearer in APEC on how effects have been so far overreaching and profound to the detriment of many economies and the food supply of the world,” he said.

“We have to stop fighting and we have to move on to democracy,” he added.

In its 2022 Leaders' Declaration, APEC leaders said the bloc “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.”

• APEC leaders 'demand' Russia's 'complete, unconditional withdrawal' from Ukraine

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks,” the declaration read.

The multinational trade and economic cooperative, however, noted that the APEC summit was “not the forum to resolve security issues.”

Russia is a member of the 21-member group, but Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend this year’s summit in Thailand and just sent a representative.

Russia's eight-month-old invasion of Ukraine has caused a spike in global food and oil prices, bringing millions into poverty.

Economic sanctions imposed against Moscow have also affected the supply of commodities such as oil and fertilizers, while the damage in Ukraine has crippled Kyiv’s capacity to produce grain.