Who could be the first world leader who would ask President Rodrigo Duterte to become the peace broker between Ukraine and Russia?
During an online press briefing on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, acting Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar raised the possibility that the President might be convinced to act as mediator “if world leaders make a request.”
Andanar, who is also the communications secretary, reacted to the statement of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque that President Duterte could act as mediator because of the Philippines’ “neutral position and constitutionally mandated foreign policy of peace with all nations.”
The war in Ukraine has been ongoing since Russia invaded its neighboring fellow Slavic country on Feb. 24.
The senatorial aspirant Roque further said Duterte’s standing “among nations directly and indirectly involved” in Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine makes the President qualified to become a peacemaker. The President has said the Philippines is neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and he repeated his stand during the “Talk to the People” that was taped on Monday, March 21 but aired the following day.
The Philippines is not really neutral on the matter of the Eastern European conflict, which has displaced around 10 million people.
In the recent special emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Philippines was among the 141 nations that voted in favor of the resolution that “deplores in strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine” and “demands” that Russia “unconditionally” withdraw its forces from Ukraine. Voting in favor of the UN General Assembly resolution does not sound neutral at all.
The outgoing President himself called the conflict in Eastern Europe a “stupid war.” If the country was neutral, then why would Duterte call the war such?
Again, who could be the world leader who would request President Duterte to act as broker of peace between the two nations? It is highly doubtful that a single world leader would approach him.