Philippine President Rodrigo (L) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (Photo: AFP/VNA)Da Nang (VNA) –
Philippine President Rodrigo on November 10 met with his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting held in Vietnam's central city of Da Nang.
At the meeting, Duterte thanked the
Russian leader for firearms assistance, contributing to the recent victory of the
Philippine army in the fight against Islamic militants in the Marawi city. The
Philippines will buy more arms from Russia, he added.
For his part, Putin affirmed that the
two countries are willing to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in
defence.
In
October, Russia delivered military vans and thousands of assault rifles to the
Philippines during Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s trip to the
country, marking the first time a Defence Minister of Russia has visited the
Philippines.
Also
in October, the Philippine army declared to complete the five-month campaign
against insurgents who pledged loyalty to the self-claimed Islamic State (IS)
in Marawi city.-VNA
