PH calls for Ukraine war de-escalation in Asean-Russia meet

MANILA – The Philippine government called anew for a de-escalation in the Ukraine war and for parties to exert all efforts to cease hostilities.

The call was made during the virtual 18th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Russia Senior Official Meeting (ARSOM) on May 23, where the 10-member bloc and Moscow discussed economic cooperation.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asean Affairs Daniel Espiritu urged all parties to continue “serious dialogue and diplomacy” to settle disputes and allow safe access to humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

Based on the latest data from the United Nations, at least 3,998 have been killed and 4,693 injured since the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started on February 24.

But apart from the humanitarian crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier said the Ukraine war has also unleashed a “perfect storm” of crises that threaten to devastate the economies of developing countries.

“The war is supercharging a three-dimensional crisis — food, energy and finance — that is pummeling some of the world’s most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” he said last month, following the launch of a report on the Ukraine war’s global impact on food and finance systems.

“[A]ll this comes at a time when developing countries are already struggling with a slate of challenges not of their making — the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, climate change and a lack of access to adequate resources to finance the recovery in the context of persistent and growing inequalities We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of many developing countries,” he added.