Putin to help PH combat terrorism
Duterte appeals for fairness, equality, and mutual respect
MOSCOW, Russia — Russia is prepared to develop its partnership with the Philippines in countering terrorism and share their experiences and all developments with Filipinos.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave this assurance to visiting Philippine President Duterte during their bilateral meeting in Sochi Thursday afternoon.
Putin noted how Duterte’s first visit to Russia in May, 2017 was cut short due to the war against ISIS-inspired terrorists in Marawi City. He lauded Duterte for being able to lower the level of the threat of terrorism in the country since then.
“I remember that during your last visit to Russia in May of 2017, you had to cut it short and return to the Philippines due to terrorist attacks committed by ISIS terrorists. And over the last two years, you have managed to lower the level of terrorist threat in your country and to strengthen the potential of your security bodies,” he said.
“We are prepared to develop our partnership when it comes to countering terrorism and share our experience and all the developments,” he added.
For his part, President Duterte noted that the two countries have established a high-level consultative mechanism between the Foreign Ministries, National Security Councils, and Economic agencies.
“I am therefore happy with this opportunity to continue our
dialogue with the view of identifying vital areas of cooperation where we should concentrate our efforts in the coming years,” he said.
Since 2017, Duterte said the National Security Councils of both countries have been meeting regularly to take stock of their engagement in defense, security, and law enforcement matters and to exchange views on other issues affecting both countries.
“Since the signing of our agreement on defense cooperation in 2017, we have the exchanges of high-level visits between our defense and security officials as well as the port calls of our two navies,” he said.
“It is imperative to sustain these consultative dialogues and enhance our mechanism to further strengthen the foundation of our growing relationships,” he added.
Duterte has always lauded Russia for its help during the war and repeatedly said that Russia never asked for anything in return.
PH-Russia ties
Both leaders lauded the “dramatic” turn of events in the ties between the Philippines and Russia. According to Duterte, he visited Russia this time to reaffirm the Philippines’ strong commitment and to build a robust and comprehensive partnership with the Russian Federation.
“We have also made historic firsts in the key strategic areas from economic defense, security, and military technical cooperation,” he said.