MANILA, Philippines: As Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its second year, the Philippines on Saturday, February 24, 2024, called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the UN Charter.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that by voting in favor of the six resolutions of the UN General Assembly Emergency Special Session on Ukraine, the Philippines articulated its principled position and has consistently supported Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

"The Philippines reiterates its call on concerned Parties to seek a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the conflict. We recall the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes which reaffirms the principle that all States shall settle their disputes by peaceful means," the DFA said in a statement posted on its website.

In May 2023 President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. raised the need to protect the sovereignty of each nation in the face of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. The attack claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers.