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(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he will discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping his concerns over the conflict in Ukraine spilling over into Asia and dragging the Philippines into the “vortex of a war.”

In a speech in Lapu-Lapu City Thursday, Duterte revealed that he and Xi are scheduled to have a meeting on April 8. He did not specify if the meeting was to be face-to-face or by phone.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine a little more than a month ago, and there were fears that the war could escalate into a global confrontation of superpowers if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to use nuclear weapons to subdue stiff Ukrainian resistance.

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