Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky met heads of state and legislators in Singapore late on Saturday and early on Sunday, seeking security assistance and support for a peace summit after arriving for a surprise visit to the Shangri-La Dialogue.
On the social media platform X, Zelensky said he had met Indonesia’s president-elect, Prabowo Subianto; a delegation from the US Congress; and the president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta.
“It is very important for us to begin the process of establishing a just peace,” Zelensky said. “Russia does not want to end the war. Therefore, we must work together with the entire world to bring peace closer.”
“On the Ukraine crisis, China has been promoting peace talks with a responsible attitude,” he said. “We have never provided weapons to either party of the conflict. We have put strict controls on exports of dual-use items, and have never done anything to fan the flames. We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue.”
Russia has not attended the security summit in Singapore since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Zelensky and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, also had talks with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin for more than an hour on Sunday on the sidelines of the conference.
Austin updated Zelensky on Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv and “reaffirmed the US commitment to maintaining the strong support” during the meeting, a Pentagon official said after the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
“The two leaders pledged to further strengthen the strategic defence partnership between the United States and Ukraine,” the Pentagon official said.
Zelensky is scheduled to speak at the security summit’s final discussion session on Sunday on “Re-Imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability”.
Ukraine is facing a renewed assault from Russian forces, particularly around the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The United States recently relaxed restrictions on the use of US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, which experts say will help Ukraine blunt attacks before they gather momentum.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, organised by the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies, ends on Sunday.
