Zelenskyy meets heads of state in Singapore, seeks support for security summit

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy told the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday that diplomacy - in the form of a peace summit later this month - was the best way to end a "cruel war" that has killed thousands in his country since 2022.

In an address and question-and-answer session at the security conference in Singapore, Zelenskyy said 106 countries and organisations had signed on for the peace summit in Switzerland, but noted it was disappointing that some world leaders had not yet offered their support. Russia was trying to disrupt the peace efforts, he said.

"We are convinced that our world wants to be united and be capable of acting in complete harmony," Zelenskyy said.

He also thanked countries, including the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, for their military assistance, particularly with air defence systems. Zelenskyy cited a Russian attack on Sunday with nearly 100 missiles - something he said had happened hundreds of times - and noted "no country could handle this alone".

Zelenskiy and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, held talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for more than an hour on Sunday on the sidelines of the conference before his speech.

Austin updated Zelenskyy on Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv and "reaffirmed the US commitment to maintaining the strong support" during the meeting, a Pentagon official said, 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.

On the social media platform X, Zelenskyy said he had also met Indonesia's president-elect Prabowo Subianto; a delegation from the U.S. Congress; and the president of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta.

He said Ramos-Horta had agreed to attend the peace summit, scheduled for mid-June in Switzerland. At last year's Shangri-La Dialogue, Prabowo had proposed an Indonesian plan for ending the war in Ukraine.

In an address to delegates on Sunday, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun said his country had been careful not to support either Russia or Ukraine. Beijing has decided not to attend the Switzerland summit.

"On the Ukraine crisis, China has been promoting peace talks with a responsible attitude," Dong 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."

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.

Russia has not attended the security summit in Singapore since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.