Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Singapore to speak at Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking to drum up support from dialogue attendees ahead of an upcoming peace summit, set for Jun 15 to 16, in Switzerland.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy arrives in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Jun 1, 2024. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
SINGAPORE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on Sunday (Jun 2).
The organisers of Asia's top defence summit, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), confirmed on Saturday that Mr Zelenskyy will participate in the seventh plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue, titled “Re-Imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability”.
IISS also told CNA on Saturday that Mr Zelenskyy will attend in person as he seeks to rally support for Kyiv while a Russian offensive gains ground. Reuters earlier reported he would be in Singapore, citing several unidentified sources.
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presence at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue comes at an important time. We eagerly await his remarks,” said IISS Director-General and Chief Executive Bastian Giegerich.
The session will start at 11.30am, Singapore time and will be streamed on IISS' website and YouTube channel.
Mr Zelenskyy arrived in Singapore on Saturday evening for the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he will likely discuss support for his embattled country in an address to delegates.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also meet Mr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov on Sunday on the sidelines of the conference, according to a US official.
They will meet to "discuss the current battlefield situation in Ukraine and to underscore US commitment to ensuring Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression", said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and is travelling with Mr Austin.
Mr Austin, who spoke on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, noted in his remarks that the support for Ukrainian forces pushing back against Russia's invasion for more than two years showed that countries around the world could rally in the face of aggression.
Mr Zelenskyy is also set to ask attendees at the conference to attend and support a peace summit, scheduled for Jun 15 to 16, in Switzerland.
The Ukrainian leader later posted on X that he would hold meetings with Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Timor-Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta, Mr Austin and "Singaporean investors".
"Global security is impossible when the world's largest country disregards recognised borders, international law and the UN Charter, resorts to hunger, darkness and nuclear blackmail," he added.
"Restoring just peace for Ukraine and ensuring global food and nuclear security will be the aims of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. And this is why the Asia-Pacific voice must be heard there."
The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s premier defence summit to discuss critical security challenges in the Asia-Pacific. Security assistance for Ukraine was one of the key issues discussed at this year's dialogue.
Russia has not attended the Shangri-La Dialogue since the invasion.
The dialogue, held annually in Singapore by IISS, started on Friday and ends on Sunday.
RUSSIAN ATTACKS INTENSIFYING
Mr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia is trying to disrupt the upcoming peace summit, which he hopes will generate support for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's 1991 borders.
Russia has begun renewed assaults against Ukrainian lines and has stepped up missile attacks in recent months. Russian troops have made small gains in Ukraine's east and south, even as Kyiv's allies accelerate shipments of ammunition and other arms.
The United States this year approved US$61 billion of weapons for Ukraine, some of which - such as Patriot missiles and long-range precision ballistic missiles known as ATACMS - have already arrived there.
On Thursday, US officials said President Joe Biden had assured Ukraine it could use US weapons to strike targets across the border in Russia that were being used to attack areas around Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine's northeast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO members against allowing Ukraine to fire their weapons into Russia and earlier in the week again raised the risk of nuclear war.
