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Russian Foreign Ministry reveals possible dates for Philippine president's visit to Moscow

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will visit Russia in April or May next year, the country’s Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Monday at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"I have come here taking into account the agreement our leaders reached on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru, during which Russian President Vladimir Putin invited [Philippine] President Rodrigo Duterte to visit Russia in 2017. I hope the visit will take place in April or May," he said.

Lavrov, in turn, noted that Russia and the Philippines were marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year which is "a good reason for boosting bilateral ties." "We have always valued our relations with the Philippines, the country is our priority partner in the Asian-Pacific region," the Russian foreign minister stressed.

On November 20, Putin and Duterte held a meeting during the APEC summit in Peru, on the occasion Putin invited Duterte to visit Russia. Upon his return from Peru, the Philippine president stated that he was looking forward to see Russia with his own eyes but he was not ready to visit in winter since he could not stand cold weather. Later Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin expected his Philippine counterpart to visit during a season that he found convenient.